


The Social Experiment

by EarthsickWithoutYou



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-15 15:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13033845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthsickWithoutYou/pseuds/EarthsickWithoutYou
Summary: Caitlin encourages Harry to try to make more friends after interacting with the Council of Wells leaves him grumpy and doubtful if he even likes himself very much.  She takes him out on the town, but in the process of trying to win him over to being more cheerful and open, their romantic feelings for one another become increasingly obvious.  There's a bit of an adventure plot running through the romance as well.





	1. Let's go out tonight

Caitlin Snow pressed her hands against her neck, trying to release some of the tension that had built up there after a long day at Star Labs. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of some of the discomfort subsiding. “Mmm,” she murmured, thinking about going home to a hot bath and a glass of red wine.

She opened her eyes at the sound of an object clattering to the floor, only to realize that Harry Wells had come into the room during her brief near-nap. He leaned over and scooped up the tablet he’d knocked off the side of the desk. Caitlin smiled, raising an eyebrow. Why did it seem as if Harry had been looking at her, as she sat there with her eyes closed, making a sound of satisfaction, her head tilted back, and that the incident had caused him a mild outburst of clumsiness? _In your dreams,_ she cautioned herself, but even though she’d always assumed her crush on Harry was one-sided, it certainly seemed as though her theory was accurate.

“Uh, um,” Harry began awkwardly, adjusting his glasses. He cleared his throat, regaining his dignity. “Snow. Working late, I see.”

“So you do,” Caitlin replied, a tiny little tease in her voice that made him remain uneasy. Aha. Perhaps he _had_ been gazing at her after all. The idea made Caitlin’s skin tingle and threatened to get her far too distracted to maintain her cool — though not Frosty, thank goodness — facade.

Harry opened his mouth to reply but looked lost for words, so Caitlin decided to rescue him. “Long day, huh? I heard all about the Council of Wells from Cisco. That certainly sounds…intriguing.”

“Ha,” he replied gruffly, sinking into a chair across the way from her desk and swiveling slightly back and forth. Caitlin momentarily entertained the fantasy of going over there, climbing onto his lap, pressing her fingers against those long legs of his and kissing his mouth without the slightest explanation. Then it was her turn to clear her throat.

“Was that, uh, the wrong adjective?” she inquired casually, running a hand through her hair.

“Just reductive, but probably because you’re too kind to be honest about it. I think I have a very complicated relationship with myself, Snow. Working with those other Wellses just threw that into sharp relief today. Sure, we got the job done and there are few other thinkers so ruthlessly efficient,” his eyes sparkled for a second as he complimented himself, making her chortle and roll her own eyes. “But they were also incredibly annoying, to the extent that I couldn’t wait to get rid of them.”

“Aw,” Caitlin replied sympathetically, “I thought the cyborg Wells sounded pretty cool, at least.”

“He’s obnoxious, they all are,” Harry complained acerbically. “Cisco thinks I have a love-hate relationship with myself with more of an emphasis on the hate part.”

“Really?” she asked, concerned at his suddenly more melancholy expression. She went over to him and sat on his desk, crossing her legs, eager to hear more about Harry’s introspective issues. Especially if there was anything she could do to help.

Caitlin had always been too nervous and overwhelmed to admit out loud how much she cared for Wells, but if there was a way she could show him even a fraction of that feeling through friendship alone, she was ready to be there for him, always.

“Yeah, I think he has a point, actually,” he admitted, but he was avoiding her gaze as if being this exposed about his insecurities made him vulnerable enough without adding eye contact. “I love me, I mean come on, who wouldn’t? I’m brilliant. But sometimes…I don’t think I like me very much. And if Cisco’s right, that would explain why I don’t feel comfortable trying to make more new friends.”

“Would it explain why you can’t look at my face right now?” Caitlin asked softly, reaching for his hand.

Harry looked slightly startled and exactly like he had no idea what to do about her sweet, solicitous expression or her physical touch. His tone became quieter, more intimate, as he leaned into the mood that had become more intense between them.

“Let’s face it, you guys on Team Flash are only friends with me out of circumstance, not choice,” he worried. “What does that say about me? I know I can be a bit churlish and maybe I’m not the easiest guy in the world to get along with, but I do have other qualities.”

“Lots of other qualities,” Caitlin added helpfully. _Like the brightest, most gorgeous blue eyes I’ve ever seen, the biggest heart I’ve ever encountered, a genius intellect, and a body that keeps me up at night thinking thoughts I really shouldn’t think_. Hmm, perhaps she would continue keeping those truths inside for now. They made her feel too scared that she could be misreading Harry’s attitude, and he saw her only as a pal. That might hurt, but the embarrassment of showing her hand just to get rejected would burn worse.

“So,” Harry continued, glancing down at her fingers that still rested gently upon his own, “Do you think I’m capable of making friends?” The moment between them deepened as part of the interaction was clearly asking an entirely different question, despite the sincerity of the one he voiced. The mystery surrounding this chemistry between them and what it meant remained just as silent on his end.

“Let’s find out,” she suggested, standing up, noticing out of the corner of one eye that he’d looked down at the hand she had touched as if still analyzing the way it had felt and why she might have done that. “Come on, Harry, cheer up. Why don’t we go to Jitters? We can sing bad karaoke, dance, drink, have a bite to eat, and you can work on your social skills. It’s always packed there at night.”

“That sounds so…” Harry made a sour face and Caitlin giggled. 

“Social?” She asked.

“Exactly,” he confirmed, “I don’t know about this.”

“Well, that’s too bad, because I do,” she insisted. “Don’t worry about your face, either. If anyone mentions that you look just like dead-evil Dr. Harrison Wells, just tell them he’s your distant cousin.” Suddenly, her plan for a relaxing night home alone evaporated and a thrill of excited anticipation made her heart beat faster. “Harry Wells.” She crossed her arms with an affectionate smirk, confronting him head-on. He looked back at her, considering her proposal carefully. “Do you trust me?”

“Generally speaking, yes,” Harry confirmed, still half-uncertain that he could go through with this social experiment. 

“Then what are we waiting for?” Caitlin asked brightly. “Let’s get out of here.”


	2. Say my name and everything just stops

This endeavor was doomed to failure and most likely complete humiliation, Harry suspected.. Why was he going along with this, anyway? There was no way he could fit in with the cheerful and festive environment she was bringing him into, and less chance he’d actually make new friends or extricate himself from random small talk without feeling like a total social screw-up. Past precedent foretold a wretched crash-and-burn.

Harry sighed, following Caitlin as faithfully as a puppy dog, unable to resist the sunshine that exuded from her very pores. For a confirmed grump like him, surely Caitlin’s optimistic outlook and goody-two-shoes personality ought to annoy him. But instead, he found her absolutely and devastatingly charming. And beautiful. And sexy. Oh, and on top of all that, she had a nearly unerring moral compass, a brilliant intellect, and a lust for life that shone through on occasions like this, when she put aside her ongoing stress regarding her Killer Frost problems and just let loose, had fun. Harry found Caitlin’s presence addictive, but it was a temptation he’d always pushed aside. 

She could never want him in return, after all. Putting aside age difference and the fact that he came from another Earth (the latter being less of a concern now that he’d pretty much settled into this world for the foreseeable future), Harry knew he was a walking disaster. A ticking time bomb of annoying qualities destined to explode and ruin any potential romance. He sighed as she paused unexpectedly at the entrance of a clothing store, without any idea of his inner turmoil — or the part of it that was all about her, anyway.

“This is not Jitters,” Harry objected rather obviously.

“No, it’s not, and we are not going out dressed like this.” Caitlin waved a hand in front of her lovely beige blouse and tan pants, topped off with a delicate gold chain around her neck, and he shrugged. She looked amazing, as always. What was she talking about? Then she gestured at his own plain black t-shirt and matching jeans. “I’m in my work clothes, and you look like you just came from a casual-dress funeral.”

“What?” Harry replied cluelessly, “I like black.”

As they entered the store, which was filled with the kinds of trendy and overly complicated clothing options that caused him immeasurable, flinch-worthy dread, Caitlin spun back around to face him, grinning. Touching his chest lightly, she said, “I know you do. But let’s try to step it up a notch and make this evening as successful as possible.” She winked and he wondered if she’d felt his heart slamming against his ribcage under her fingers. If she had, she wasn’t showing it.

“Aha!” Caitlin enthused, pulling a few button-down mens shirts and pairs of trousers off of shelves and racks, her arms moving fluidly, like a fashion windmill that nearly made him dizzy. She pressed the clothes into his arms and nodded at the fitting room. “You get started,” she ordered adorably, “I’m going to start looking for myself.”  
Harry’s arms were so full that he had to back into the fitting room, bumping into the full-length mirror. He dropped the clothes unceremoniously on the bench beside him and shut the door, glum at the prospect of dressing up, and worse, the fact that he still had to keep his agreement with Caitlin and actually go mingle with other humans out there in the real world.

He put on a dark blue shirt, buttoning it carelessly before throwing on a pair of skinny-fit, slate grey trousers and shrugging on a matching jacket. Heh. He regarded himself in the mirror with slight surprise. He didn’t look horrible.

“Snow,” he called distractedly, stepping out of the fitting room stall to find her, “Are there shoes that go with this….” He trailed off as he looked across the way at Caitlin, who had exited the women’s fitting room with a shy smile. _Damn, I am done for,_ he thought, his heart in his throat at the sight of her.

She wore a close-fitting, black and cream paisley-patterned dress with one long sleeve only, the other shoulder and arm completely bare. Sliding her feet into black pumps which the saleswoman had brought out to match the ensemble, she bit her lip and looked over at Harry. In her bright, lovely brown eyes, there was a very significant _something_ shining, something he could not for the life of him identify, though he desperately wanted to figure it out.

“So what do you think?” She asked him, looking him up and down at the same time, seeming for some reason to take pause at his appearance.

“I, uh…” God, why was he constantly saying “um” and “uh” today? Usually, these were stalling methods of the weak and idiotic. 

_Oh no,_ Harry thought in a bit of a panic. Am _I weak and idiotic?_ One thing was for sure: he certainly felt that way at the moment, weak in the knees and bereft of words, staring at Caitlin like an anxious teenager looking at the girl of his dreams on prom night. He had never felt like an idiot before, but apparently there was a first time for everything.

“You, um, you look fine,” he managed, then wanted to smack himself upside the head. There was a need to hide his feelings, obviously. It would be distinctly untoward of him to kiss her. And Harry clearly couldn’t just confess, right then and there, that he was pretty certain he was in love with her. But on the other hand, there was no need to be so insultingly dismissive.

Thankfully, she wasn’t offended. Caitlin walked over to him, then fingered the lining of his jacket. “How do I look?” Harry asked, unable to resist his curiosity.

“You look…” Caitlin said bluntly, her eyes wide and her cheeks spread with pink, “ _Fine._ ” Without looking away from his spellbound face, she called to the salesperson, “We’ll take everything. Can we wear it out of here?”  
***********************************************************************

Jitters was full of happy, chatty people, and one look around the premises sent Harry right back out the door, only for Caitlin to grab his elbow and gently urge him back in. “Don’t let me down,” She pleaded, recognizing the pathetic quality of her tone but unable to resist, even adding a small pout.

“Oh, fine, fine, fine,” Harry muttered gruffly. “Only for you, Snow.” She liked the sound of that. But she also wanted him to _relax_ and enjoy himself for once, no matter how much she wished they could just be alone. Making out. Clothing optional. Damn, he looked good; that shirt matched his eyes so closely that it seemed to make them almost glow. He took the jacket off and laid it over a chair, the toned and lean lines of his body under the close-fitting shirt enough to cause Caitlin to clear her throat, a necessary distraction from her own lustful reverie.

“What now?” He demanded irritably, making her laugh. 

“First things first,” She determined, “Go and get us some drinks. Bring them back here.” He came back with two dry martinis and handed her one before downing his own like it was water. “Feeling less uptight?” She asked hopefully.

“No, but incrementally drunker,” He replied, wincing as a couple of girls got onstage and grabbed karaoke mikes before launching into an ear-assaulting Meghan Trainor cover. “How would you feel about just killing me right now?”

“Oh, give me a break,” she said, waving off his ridiculous words. Then she extended that same hand towards him. “Shall we dance?” 

Harry sighed heavily, but led her to the crowded dance area, where their goofy moves soon made them both chuckle, breaking through his anxious and stiff demeanor at last. 

“Is there a dance contest here tonight? Because I think we would totally lose it,” He joked. He spun Caitlin around, just as the perky, upbeat number was replaced by a more talented singer, a young man who launched into a Bruno Mars ballad with smooth confidence and skill. Caitlin automatically spun against Harry and then positioned herself into slow-dance position, but Harry paused, looking as confused and frozen as if aliens had suddenly appeared. Caitlin looked over his shoulder to make sure aliens hadn’t appeared. This was Central City, after all. Anything could happen.

“What?” She asked, perplexed. “Don’t you want to keep dancing?”

 _Hell, yes, I do,_ Harry thought passionately, stepping into her personal space as her arms circled his neck and his rested at her waist. They swayed back and forth and he murmured, “Doesn’t take much skill to slow dance, anyway.”

“I think you’re kind of good at it,” Caitlin replied softly, daring to glance up at him. He looked very serious all of a sudden, but not in a negative way at all. In fact, quite the opposite. Harry’s expression conveyed a fascinating combination of _contented_ and _intrigued._ Attracted.

“Likewise, Snow,” He answered huskily, dropping his head slightly so that it touched her own, almost as if he was smelling her hair. She nestled closer, noticing his own scent, which was piney and spicy, and his body language, which had become slightly bolder. He stepped closer to her with each turn, prompting her to tip her face up to tell him a secret.

“Harry, can I tell you why I really asked you out tonight?” She asked. His face lit up with intent curiosity, but just then, some incredibly obtuse person had the nerve to tap Harry on the shoulder.

“Hey,” A drunken college-aged guy slurred, “Aren’t you that dude that blew up the parcel emitter and made all the little metahuman people?”

Harry rolled his eyes so far up that Caitlin was surprised he could get them back down again. They stepped back slightly from each other and her heart sank in disappointment that they’d been interrupted. “It was a _particle accelerator_ , metahumans are not cute widdle teddy bears, and have you no common sense at all? I mean, I thought _I_ was bad at reading social cues, but seriously?” 

_I wish you’d tell me what social cues you’re referring to, exactly,_ Caitlin thought, her mind still back there in that dance with Harry, still analyzing.

Just then, a group of other students stepped forward, one of the girls putting a protective, friendly arm around the tipsy guy. “Sorry, we were just about to put Casey here in an Uber. He just got dumped and he tried to erase that fact from his memory by drinking pina coladas and belting out ’90’s country songs.”

“Thank God we didn’t get here any earlier,” Harry groaned, earning a swat on the arm from Caitlin.

“That’s okay,” Caitlin replied smoothly, shaking the girl’s hand and introducing herself. 

“I’m Jenny,” The girl replied, her auburn ponytail bouncing cheerily. “I’m here with a whole bunch of my friends, plus my aunt. It’s weird, but my aunt is like, my best friend. She introduced us to this place because we _love_ karaoke.”

“Awesome,” said Caitlin, feeling obligated to go and be introduced to the rest of Jenny’s friends as one of them carefully guided Casey outside to the car. 

“You do totally look like Harrison Wells,” Jenny noticed as they headed over to her group’s table. 

“Trick of the light,” Harry mumbled dismissively. Caitlin wondered if his return to grouchiness was prompted by the interruption or just the fact that he was being thrown into a social situation again.

“Meredith?” Caitlin squealed, noticing that Jenny’s aunt was a friend of hers from medical school. She had a round, charmingly freckled face and reddish-brown hair to match her niece’s. The two women hugged and sat down together to catch up, leaving Harry awkwardly on the fringes. He stared down at his shiny new shoes and remarked, “Um.” 

“Get in here, Harry,” Caitlin urged. Everyone shifted down in the round booth to make room for him to slide in next to Caitlin, and Harry breathed a sigh of unmistakable relief. “I’ll never leave you on your own like that,” she murmured, touching his hand.

“Thanks, Snow,” he answered simply, their gazes locked again as Meredith whistled.

“Okay, we are like the fifth through the tenth wheel,” she noted, nodding around at Jenny and the rest of the friends, who paused in the sipping of their drinks and the chewing of their appetizer samplers.

“Oh,” Caitlin exclaimed hurriedly. Her cheeks felt pure scarlet and it was Harry’s turn to clear his throat. “No, Harry and I are just friends.”

“Right, just like me and Michael Andolfo at the Fall Formal,” Meredith quipped with a wink.

“You married Mike Andolfo,” Caitlin said between gritted teeth.

“Mmmhmm. Where did you find that handsome devil? At work?”

“Shh!” Caitlin put a hand to her temple and glanced back at Harry, who just smiled at her, gentle and kind, the side of him he showed to so few. If there was one thing he understood, it was being needled by friends; if there was one thing that he liked, it was Meredith’s suggestion about himself and Caitlin. She could see that information written plainly across his earnest features, and she automatically leaned closer to him, follow-up questions shimmering in her eyes.

This being Central City and all, the front window of Jitters shattered into what seemed like a thousand pieces right at that moment, sending all of the patrons flying to the floor, Harry shielding Caitlin with his body out of pure instinct. He stared down at her for a beat as time seemed to stop, his form covering hers gently, but in an undeniably provocative manner once they both registered the precise way in which they’d landed in their shocked panic at the sudden melee. Harry squinted at her in perplexed concern as Caitlin’s warm brown eyes began to shift into the icy white-blue of Killer Frost, white spreading out from the roots of her hair and her breath coming out in a visible puff. 

“Caitlin, stay with me,” Harry urged, not even knowing why at first. He could hear the typically non-subtle entry of several criminal metas storming into Jitters, the cling-clang-crumple-stuff of the cash register being raided, and the whimpering of terrified karaoke fans all around them. More than a few people had pieces of glass lodged in their skin. He eased his phone from his pocket and dialed 9-1-1 as well as sending a notification out to Team Flash.

Surely, Killer Frost might actually come in handy right now. But he knew that changing into Frost wasn’t what Caitlin really wanted. He hated the idea of her loss of agency, the choice to remain herself or turn into her alter-ego snatched away by her own inner dichotomy. 

“Harry?” Caitlin asked, the tips of her curly hair beginning to change back to blondish-brown as he stroked her cheek, the skin there going from glossy-cold to rosy and flushed beneath his fingers. “What’s happening?”


	3. Coax the cold right out of me

“Excuse me, has anyone seen Dr. Caitlin Snow?” The familiar, shrill voice of Amunet rose above the tumult of her goons’ violent arrival. 

Caitlin was still looking up at Harry in surprise. She’d broken out into a sweat in the anxiety of the unexpected attack and her near-shift into Killer Frost which he had somehow soothed away from her as easily as tucking a stray hair behind one ear. Maybe that was the only reason for her rapid-fire heartbeat, each one seeming as hard as a cannonball against her ribcage, but then again, she was lying on the floor with Harry Wells hovering over her, his lower body still leaning between her hips, his hands still caressing her face as he worried about her. “You okay?” He asked. She couldn’t help it. Her own fingers rose to trace the lines of his face, then she adjusted his glasses. 

“Yeah,” she finally replied, shaky, caught somewhere between emotion and confusion over how it was that she hadn’t transformed. She realized that the two were intricately connected, that their feelings had allowed him to pull her back from Killer Frost, sweeping away her fear and anxiety, bringing her into his warm, comforting, safe embrace until she’d never felt _further_ from a change into Frost. Caitlin put all of this together before bothering to react to Amunet’s arrival, and the revelation made her smile gently. Harry smiled back, as if he couldn’t help it either.

Finally forcing herself to deal with the outside reality that threatened them, Caitlin sat up, watching as Amunet licked her finger and held it out to the air. “Bit less chilly in here than I expected. Aha!” She pranced forward and latched her skinny, evil fingers onto Caitlin’s arm. “There you are, poppet. Come along with me, would you? Got orders from on high that your presence is required. Don’t ask me why, it’s way above my pay grade and frankly, I prefer to keep it that way.” She paused as Harry smacked her vice-like grip away from Caitlin. Only the unexpected nature of Harry’s motion had managed to shake off the powerful meta, who gave him a toothy, Cheshire-Cat grin traced in black lipstick. “Oh, hello there, gorgeous. I guess my boss was spot-on about the pair of you being a package deal. Harrison Wells of Earth-2, I take it?”

“What’s it to you?” Harry demanded irritably, trying again to block Caitlin from danger. “Get out of here,” he whispered to her over his shoulder. Caitlin frowned and shook her head. No way. 

“Nothing in particular, though I wouldn’t mind checking under your hood sometime, if you catch my drift,” Amunet flirted, winking a long-lashed eye at Harry. “Anywho, my employer has asked that we deliver both of you to him post-haste, so chop-chop, lovelies.” She gave a tiny nod, and several of her henchmen stepped forward to grab Harry and Caitlin, hoisting them off to a black van where they were unceremoniously tossed into the backseat. The door slammed behind them imposingly, and the tires soon squealed as the van sped off through the night.

“Where’s Barry?” Caitlin murmured, but Harry still had his phone, despite the cracked screen. It told them that Team Flash was smack dab in the middle of diffusing another meta crime crisis across town. A scenario possibly cooked up by whoever had nabbed Caitlin and Harry, so that Team Flash wouldn’t get in the way of this scheme. Caitlin bit her lip nervously. “They didn’t even tie us up,” she observed. 

“Because whatever this is, they’re pretty confident there’s no escape for us,” Harry guessed.

“Do you think I should, you know, go Frosty?”

There were no seats in the compartment they were traveling in, just hard black walls and plenty of opportunities to get shaken around, due to their captor’s crazy driving. They sat with their backs against the wall, doing their best to stay still. Harry considered Caitlin’s words carefully before replying, “It would give us a tactical advantage, but I’m very much against doing anything that isn’t what you want and makes you uncomfortable.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Caitlin replied softly, then she began weighing her options. She’d hoped and prayed that she’d have a breakthrough and show signs of better combatting the urge to shift. Now that she had actually felt that breakthrough occur, the spark of hope within her just couldn’t stand to be doused. “I don’t want to become her unless I absolutely have to. I want to be me.”

“Then that’s what we’ll go with,” he agreed immediately. “Kind of what I hoped you’d say.” That he was smiling despite their predicament was very precious to her. They’d been through enough scrapes together to silently acknowledge that this was typical. That they’d figure out a way to win, to escape, to survive. They were smart and scrappy, and no member of Team Flash let a puny kidnapping ruin their evening. Surely not on a night like this.

The driver turned a corner recklessly, sending Harry smashing hard into a corner and Caitlin zooming after him until she landed splayed against him, her fingers gripping his blue shirt. In the force of their hurtling motion, she’d grabbed onto him as they flew forward, slightly ripping the shirt until a couple of buttons popped off of it.

“Ugh,” Harry groaned, rubbing the back of his head and sitting upright again with effort. He looked down at the torn shirt and added, “Well, so much for my spiffy new look.” 

Caitlin shook her head and pocketed the buttons. They could be sewed back on later, when they were out of this inconvenient-times-a-million situation. “There was nothing wrong with your usual look.” She sat up straight as well, detaching from him though she definitely didn’t want to pull away. “Listen, Harry, I’m sorry that I pressured you to be more social. You just seemed so downtrodden and unsure of yourself, and I hated to see you feeling that way. But maybe…probably, I should have just told you that some people go through their whole lives without ever finding friends like the ones you have. The bond between us all…Barry, Iris, Cisco, Joe, Wally…”

“And you and me?” Harry asked quietly. Caitlin nodded.

“And you and me,” She blushed. “That’s special. So make new friends if and when you want. In the meantime, you should know that the friends you _do_ have love you very much just exactly the way you are. And that ought to remind you that you’re far from a social pariah. That you’re a lovable guy, Harry.” Caitlin’s eyes darted away, too nervous that he might have gleaned the more intimate meaning of her use of the word “love.” By now, she was fairly certain their attraction was mutual, but being so open with him still rendered her shy and sent her nerves fluttering.

“Not a lot of people would care enough to take on a social experiment just to cheer up a friend. I appreciate it, even though I’ll probably never be…remotely socially smooth.” They both chuckled. “Snow,” he continued, then corrected himself thoughtfully, “Caitlin. I had a lot of fun tonight, with you.”

“Me, too,” She replied, letting a long breath out, the suspense of thinking she’d said too much relieved by his answer. Caitlin let her eyes return to his face and felt her heart squeeze at the sight of his look. 

It was the kind of expression which really left zero room for doubt whatsoever. The look you gave someone right before kissing them. His gaze flickered over her face, lingering on her lips, his hands going to her shoulders, stroking them tenderly. Then he noticed that her bare shoulder felt chilly and stopped to say, “You’re cold. I’m sorry I left my jacket back at—”

Caitlin closed the tiny distance between them, kissing his mouth. She held the back of his head, where he’d hit the wall, rubbing it gently, running her fingers through his soft black hair. Now that she’d started to kiss him, neither of them hesitated. Harry wrapped his warm, strong arms around her and she slid her body against him, one leg rising to cradle him, their mouths meeting over and over, exploring each other’s taste. They forgot where they were and why, forgot to care about such comparatively petty concerns. Caitlin felt an irresistible wave of excited desire raging through her as their kisses grew hungrier, finding new sources of pleasure as their mouths opened. She shivered as his tongue brushed hers, then sighed when he drew back slightly, only to kiss her neck, licking and biting her skin until she let out a moan.

Distantly, Caitlin thought that the van had slowed, but Harry’s lips had returned to hers, burning against her, and their bodies were pressing together with urgent need so long held back that it demanded satisfaction. So it didn’t seem that important. Then the van fully stopped and they heard doors slamming, their kidnappers coming for them again. Harry and Caitlin forced themselves apart, though it almost hurt her physically to stop this insanely perfect moment between them. She stared at him with huge eyes, her lips pleasantly swollen, heart galloping, fingers trembling in his. Harry just put his arm around her shoulders. They had nothing planned to combat their captors, but the obvious next step was to find out who had taken them and why. It made the most sense, therefore, to just go along with the villains for now.

The ski-masked assailants ushered them into a murky den that screamed “villain’s lair” in a cyberpunk kind of a way. Everything was black, lit only by neon wires that ran everywhere. It seemed that supercomputers ran along almost every wall, countless monitors flashing different images, world news and security cam footage surrounding them. 

“Charming place you’ve got here,” Harry called drily, getting to his feet after the minions had dashed him and Caitlin to the ground. He took Caitlin’s hand and put an arm around her to help her up.

“Why, thank you, Dr. Wells,” A haunting and mocking male voice replied. The tone had an otherworldly echo to it, like a disembodied, zombified head, Caitlin pondered. Then their nemesis appeared and she added, _or you know, a floating, pasty Bond baddie in a chair._

“DeVoe,” Caitlin said, looking up at him with contempt. “So, the Council of Wells and Barry’s suspicions were right on about you, despite your little innocent act.”

“I worked very hard on that so-called ‘little’ act, Dr. Snow,” DeVoe answered, sarcasm casting a fake-offended look on his face. “But as it is, your friend the Flash is quite right about my secret identity, completely devoid of theories as you all are regarding my actual intentions. My plans are far too complex and lofty to be gleaned by brains as tiny and insignificant as your own.”

“So, I take it that you’ve sacrificed your mobility and general physical health in favor of becoming a human supercomputer?” Harry had put this together after glancing at their surroundings and the gadgetry attached to DeVoe, who raised his eyebrows (or what was left of them) and applauded.

“Quite astute of you, Dr. Wells. It’s a pity that your intellectual potential is nothing but a pale shadow compared to the smallest output of my own brain prowess. Now then, any guesses as to why I’ve brought you and your associate here this evening?” DeVoe’s hands formed a triangle under his chin and he smiled menacingly, condescendingly.

“You needed us out of play for whatever your next move is,” Caitlin guessed. “You didn’t create all those metahumans for no reason. Whatever your planning, if it has something to do with forcing this type of technological brain amplification on the world, or if it’s just about grabbing more power for yourself by using a meta army, you need to defeat Barry to win. So you want to get rid of us to make sure we’re not there to help the Flash. Am I right?” She returned DeVoe’s cold smile, crossing her arms confrontationally.

“You know, the two of you are truly not as stupid as you look,” DeVoe commented, “I guess then, that it’s no wonder my predictive algorithms all indicate your importance to Barry Allen’s doomed attempts to defeat me. Yes, without your assistance, he will be almost entirely useless. A grieving Cisco Ramon and that overgrown adolescent, Wally West, will hardly be much help to him in the wake of your tragic loss.”

“Hmm, well thought out,” Caitlin stalled. From the corner of her eye, she saw Harry scanning the room, rapidly scraping the barrel for a plan. “How are you going to kill us?”

“If you’ll be so good as to wait here a tick, I’ll be right back to share those details with you in a very direct manner,” DeVoe promised ominously before gliding out of sight to gather God knew what means of killing the two of them.

“If only there was some way we could just…” Caitlin gestured with her hands as if yanking two cables apart.

“I know,” Harry concurred, “Unplug him. Well, what if we just crash his whole system here, see how that hits him?”

Caitlin nodded as they found crowbars leaning against the wall, doubtless well-loved props of DeVoe and Amunet’s minions, and they went about the business of smashing the screens and keyboards that filled the room.

“Why isn’t anyone stopping us?” Harry asked as they both stood there, wires crackling, sound and light fizzling out, lights flickering on and off before the back-up generator kicked in, restoring basic electricity but doing nothing to the ruined technology. He and Caitlin stood there, a bit out of breath from their act of destruction.

“I suppose I was just curious to see what was so special about you two that made you such a threat to my operation, but this has been a sad disappointment, an exercise in _basic_ -ness that has drained my faith in you completely,” DeVoe complained, reentering the room accompanied by several minions with two hospital cots and an array of torturous-looking equipment on rolling tray tables. “I mean what’s next on your to-do list? Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Monkeys could have implemented a better plan.”

“I don’t know about that,” Harry retorted. “I feel like monkeys would have implemented that same plan.”

“It was worth a try,” Caitlin shrugged.

Amunet strolled in and stood beneath DeVoe, tapping a toe. “Total system meltdown, huh? Guess you made a mistake not tying them up. Wiley, feisty ones, they are.”

“I don’t make mistakes. Why are you still here?” DeVoe inquired icily.

“Um, why else, Cliffy? Payment?” Amunet opened and closed her hand indicating that it should be filled with cash, pronto, but DeVoe merely scoffed.

“Your payment comes in the form of your continued existence, you cheap, repulsive criminal,” He bit out. 

“As opposed to some fancy-pants floating robo-man criminal? Thanks, I’ll take my methods over yours any day of the week,” Amunet retorted, though she looked genuinely offended. Caitlin pondered twisting that to their advantage.

“Show our guests a good time,” DeVoe ordered his guards, who’d donned long, rubber gloves and medical masks in a move Caitlin found very unpleasant in its connotations.

“How thoughtful,” Harry remarked, trying and failing to evade the iron grip of the guards as they secured him and Caitlin to the beds, “But we were actually just on our way out—”

Caitlin shot him a fond look because really, how could he still be wise-cracking at this point? She quelled her not-insignificant horror at the scenario by focusing on Amunet, who stood a short distance away. Caitlin remained calm and quiet as the guards yanked her dress off and placed suction-pads all over her upper torso as well as her forehead. They removed Harry’s shirt and set his equipment up similarly.

“Before you die, I may as well satisfy my scientific sense of adventure by exploring your metahuman physiology, Dr. Snow, and your not entirely useless brain, Dr. Wells. Let’s see if there’s any spare parts I can reuse for my future plans. Waste not, want not and all. And after that, your organs will also fetch a good price on the underground market. What do you say, Amunet? Interested in being my saleswoman for those? For a small cut of the profit, of course.” DeVoe lowered his chair to the ground and glided over to the cots, where Harry wrested hard against the straps holding him down, trying to lunge at the villain. Caitlin’s heart lurched as DeVoe laughed at Harry’s exertion, but she kept her expression disinterested. 

“I was thinking about having rendering you unconscious for all of these procedures, but just think of how Mr. Allen and your other friends will feel when they hear of the horrific torments you suffered, paralyzed but conscious throughout.” DeVoe turned and left without another word.

“I thought he was never gonna shut up,” Caitlin complained. Harry looked at her in astonishment.

“Why are you so calm?” He asked in a fierce whisper, blue eyes blazing with fear and anger.

Caitlin shifted slightly, genuinely cold now in just her bra and underwear, but very alert, which she needed to be. “Still trust me?” She asked. He nodded immediately.

“Pssst!” Caitlin called. Amunet half-turned, then seemed to think she’d heard something. Caitlin rolled her eyes. _“Psssssssssssssstttttttt!”_ She whisper-yelled. Amunet scowled and sidled over suspiciously.

She looked down at Caitlin, a teeny-tiny wisp of something like regret just barely visible in her dark, otherwise emotionless eyes. Amunet put her hands on her hips, shifted to and fro, looking back over at the guards, and returned her increasingly uncertain face to Caitlin’s pleading gaze. 

Amunet sighed with the utmost irritation and then threw her hands up, asking, “ _What?_ ”


	4. You take all my inhibitions

“You’re going to help us escape,” Caitlin informed Amunet crisply, prompting the latter to giggle like a demented schoolgirl.

“Are you trying to use The Force on me or something?” Amunet snorted, waving her hands about mockingly. “Why would I help you, exactly?”

“Because I will owe you,” Caitlin replied smoothly, deliberately not looking at Harry. She could practically hear the worry in his silence and feel the heat of his panicked gaze on her, despite the fact that he respected her too much to tell her what she could or couldn’t offer Amunet.

“Hrmmm,” Amunet pondered, tapping her chin with one finger. “Not a bad incentive. You’ll owe me three favors, no questions asked, understood?” 

“Caitlin,” Harry said tightly, “You don’t have to do this.”

“True,” She concurred, “But I don’t see another option where I get to avoid turning into Killer Frost and we come out of this in one piece.”

Amunet released Caitlin and stuck one hand out brashly. “Shake on it?” Caitlin reluctantly shook her hand, then looked down at herself in annoyance as she sat up on the cot. At best, this was embarrassing; at worst, just pretty damn freezing. It was forty degrees out; this wasn’t going to work.

Still, Harry being here and all, she didn’t hate that she had on cute, lacy undergarments…

“Where is my dress?” 

“Gonna serve you up a fresh helping of ‘I’ve no idea’ with a savory side of ‘I don’t care,’” Amunet replied as Caitlin scrambled to undo Harry’s straps. He blushed and tried not to look at her scantily clad state. Caitlin turned magenta, she was sure, attempting to look anywhere but his absurdly sculpted chest, stomach and arms. Wasn’t he supposed to be a scientist? Really, there was no excuse for this level of hotness, but then again, the way Harry wasn’t looking at Caitlin gave her the feeling he thought she looked pretty amazing herself. It was enough to make her have to hold off a situation-inappropriate smile.

“I’ll trade you one more favor for your coat,” Caitlin offered, and Amunet paused to think about it.

“I guess I can stand to part with it,” She decided, shrugging off the floor-length leather jacket and passing it to Caitlin. “I’ve got as many of these as Mr. Rogers has cozy cardigans.” She winked at Caitlin and Harry. “Follow me. Mind you, the biggest reason I’m helping you is to stick it to that conceited bastard DeVoe.” She led them outside and added, “Don’t you just _hate_ condescending people?”

“Yeah. We also hate murderous, greedy crime-lords,” Caitlin retorted drily. “See you around.”

“Um, excuse me, are we forgetting something, love?” Amunet asked. “I obviously don’t want old Clifford realizing that I aided and abetted.”

“Oh, right,” Caitlin replied before punching Amunet in the face. Amunet crumpled to the ground in faux-agony. Caitlin could hit decently hard, but not enough to knock her out. 

“Much obliged. I’ll be seeing you, dearie,” Amunet promised, feigning unconsciousness as she prepared to be discovered by the others.

“Not a word about the outfit,” Caitlin insisted as they rushed away from DeVoe’s house and the evil fortress within it.

“I was just gonna say that it works for you,” Harry grinned, taking her hand as they ran down the block. Ho-hum suburbia surrounded them, soccer moms loading kids into minivans and elderly couples walking dogs, eerily normal after the craziness they’d endured in DeVoe’s bunker.

“I can’t believe we got to check out DeVoe’s headquarters and didn’t manage to sabotage his insane operation. I mean, we smashed all of his computers and he didn’t bat an eye. We’re no closer to figuring out what he’s planning or why.” Caitlin sighed, feeling a bit lost in this whole ongoing battle. Christmas was coming up, and she didn’t really feel like being _in_ another battle. She just wanted to _breathe_ , and maybe even have enough breathing room between crises to explore whatever was happening between herself and Harry.

“Well, our little unplanned visit to DeVoe’s creepy lair was not so unproductive as it seemed,” Harry informed her happily. He walked backwards, facing her, for a few steps and produced his phone.

“I cloned DeVoe’s personal network with my phone,” he explained. “The one linked directly into his brain. Now we can get the inside scoop on whatever’s swirling around in his most fiercely guarded cache of information.” He waggled his eyebrows, extremely pleased with himself. 

Caitlin stopped short and grinned irrepressibly because his boyish excitement and pride were infectiously endearing. “That’s very impressive.”

“Well, we make a great team,” Harry replied softly, stepping closer. 

“I agree,” She murmured, insatiably drawn to touch him, to kiss him again. Their lips met again, arms wrapping around one another as a loud “whoosh” came rushing around the corner and then stopped.

 _“Whoaaaa,”_ Barry remarked, raising his eyebrows, then squinting as Caitlin and Harry jumped apart sheepishly. He’d arrived on the scene in full Flash costume, clearly hunting through the neighborhood based on the last place that Harry’s phone had been located. The team must’ve noticed Caitlin and Harry’s kidnapping in the wake of the attack at Jitters once they were done dealing with the metas sent by DeVoe to distract them.

Wait a minute…tracking Harry’s phone, that was the sort of thing that Cisco usually did, so that meant…

Oh, yes, Caitlin realized, fingers pressed to her forehead, the rest of the team could not be far behind. Or, maybe they were parked directly behind them, she realized as a low whistle rang out. The doors of the van were open to reveal Cisco and Joe staring at the newly revealed couple. 

“Well, well, well,” Cisco joked in a dry British accent, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Whatever do we have here?”

“Hey guys,” Harry greeted with an awkward wave.

“Oh, boy,” Caitlin murmured, looking back and forth between her own insane attire and Harry’s shirtless state. The pair of them barefoot and making out on the sidewalk like horny teenagers. Her lips felt full and tingly and Harry’s hair was all ruffled from her raking her fingers through it. _Not_ exactly subtle. 

It had been quite a sight for the team to encounter and an interesting way for Caitlin and Harry to announce that they were a couple. As social experiments go, this particular one had been quite unplanned. She wasn’t exactly sure how to feel or react. Did she even want other people knowing about her and Harry before she had a clue herself what these kisses and crazy-intense embraces were all about?

Well, Caitlin pondered, finally settling on a shrug, she might be kidding herself a little. Maybe she did have a pretty good idea of what it was all about. It was something she’d barely dared to dream she’d ever find again, or have returned to her. The one emotion which, in her past romantic track record, had caused her the most agonizing despair she’d ever experienced. But despite every once of misery she knew it could cause — and Caitlin knew with exquisitely awful detail that it would most likely bring that pain down on her hard like it always did — man, every time Harry looked at her and she felt that buzz…she knew she wouldn’t trade that feeling for a world of safety and peaceful solitude.

Caitlin Snow was a fool for love, and even when she tried to step outside the situation and look at it rationally, it was all too apparent that she was head over heels in love with Harry Wells.

“Ohh! _Oh!_ ” Joe exclaimed, so surprised that his hand had shot up over his mouth. He chuckled then, and Cisco’s own astonished, extremely amused look was so comical that Caitlin couldn’t help a laugh herself.

“Lucy,” Cisco said to Harry, this time in a theatrical Cuban accent, “You’ve got some ‘splaining to do!”

***************************************************************************************

“Wow, did you guys even need us at all tonight?” Barry wondered aloud as they all discussed the adventure that evening at Star Labs. 

“We appreciated the ride back,” Caitlin offered with a proud smile.

“I’m not sure Caitlin even needed _me_ ,” Harry enthused, beaming, “And she definitely didn’t need Killer Frost.”

“Do you guys see the way he’s smiling?” Cisco asked as Barry, Iris, and Joe took in the sight of a legitimately happy Harry Wells. “National Geographic are going to be here any minute to get some pictures of this rare phenomenon.”

“Shut up,” Harry retorted, but Caitlin slipped her arm into his and rested her head on his shoulder, making him smile again. He couldn’t help himself.

“Without you, we never would have gotten an inside line on DeVoe’s personal network,” Caitlin reminded him.

“Without you, we never would have made it out of there and it wouldn’t have mattered,” Harry replied easily.

“Long story short, you two are quite a formidable duo,” Barry concluded.

“I’ll say, but don’t you think we’re burying the lead here?” Iris asked, quickly adding, “I mean, since we’re still analyzing the data we retrieved from DeVoe. It’s about time somebody asked, how long have you two been an item?” She pointed back and forth between Harry and Caitlin, smirking affectionately.

“An, an, an item?” Harry asked, flustered. He scratched his ear for no reason. “I don’t know, are we an item?”

“Do you want to be?” Caitlin inquired, shrugging in an exaggerated attempt to be casual.

“If you want to be.” He grinned again, so handsome that Caitlin melted instantly. The idea that _she_ could be the one to make him so happy was amazing. 

“I want to be,” she replied so fast that she almost talked right over him.

“Okay, then,” Harry determined, “I guess we have been an item for a few hours now.”

“How did I not even see this coming?” Iris wondered. 

“They didn’t flirt in front of us,” Barry noted.

“Must’ve been a lot of bittersweet, longing gazes and unhealthy repression all this time,” Cisco guessed.

“Essentially,” Harry agreed, pointing to his friend and nodding. 

“Anyway,” Barry resumed, taking Iris’s hand, “We’ve got a wedding to plan, so we’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“And I’ve got to call Gypsy,” Cisco explained, scurrying away with a mischievous smile suggesting that he, like the others, just wanted to give Harry and Caitlin some alone time. “Is that a _hickey_?” He stage-whispered to Caitlin right before exiting. She swatted his shoulder and blushed. 

Just thinking about her encounter with Harry in the van was enough to make Caitlin feel incredibly self-conscious, overwhelmed, and deeply desirous of picking up where they had left off. Between the barest introduction to what Harry could do with his tongue, to the taste of his lips, the feeling of his body against hers, and his apparent fondness for biting…she pressed her lips together and folded her hands, trying to look cool and composed, utterly failing, and ultimately not minding.

“Cecile’s waiting at home,” Joe put in. “And hey, you guys?” Caitlin and Harry looked at him in curiosity. “Good for you.” He pulled his coat on and headed out for the night, so the new couple had the place to themselves.

“So,” Caitlin began when they were alone. They’d had a chance to get medical attention and clean up after returning to the lab, and between that and the fresh set of clothes, she felt much less bedraggled. She wore a grey Star Labs t-shirt that hung slightly off one shoulder, plus matching sweatpants, her wet hair swept up in a clip. Her bag, with all of her cosmetics in it, had been lost along with her phone in the kidnapping fracas. Luckily, she’d found a single tube of tinted lip gloss in her desk. It made her feel slightly more put together. Harry had on a black, long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants, so they looked somewhat amusingly like a walking advertisement for the Lab.

“You want to go out again sometime?” Harry asked, making them both laugh.

“Definitely.” Caitlin stood with her back against one of the lab tables, trying to decide what to do with her hands.

“You know, when I woke up yesterday morning a lovelorn, lonely, woebegone, lost soul, I definitely did not expect the day, or this one, to go the way it has. I mean not by a long shot. Not even if I was super-suave alternate Harrison Wells from Earth-34.5 or something.”

“Well, _I_ think you’re pretty suave,” Caitlin replied playfully. 

A pregnant pause took over, neither of them able to decide what else to say or do, what the other would want and what would fit the rather unique moment.

“I bet you’re tired,” Harry guessed, his put-on casual attitude a touch too exaggerated.

“Yeah,” she replied nonchalantly, trying not to sound disappointed. He must be exhausted as well, and eager to take a well-earned nap after not sleeping the night before. But she didn’t want to let this moment go. It was a habit she’d picked up regarding Harry.

“And hungry, too, most likely. Plus, you’ll want to go out on real dates before we go jumping into anything more serious. We don’t want to be hasty and make wild decisions based on emotion and uh, attraction, because that’s not how people do it. They go to dinner and a movie three or four times first—”

“—And usually a few double dates, too,” Caitlin said with a devilish expression.

“Never gonna happen,” Harry insisted predictably, making her giggle. 

“Right, but anyway, the point is, people, when they get together, have a courtship,” Caitlin finished helpfully.

“Exactly,” He agreed with a wave of his hand, the gesture saying “obviously, of course.”

“Even if they have known each other for a pretty long time and let all of these strong, intense feelings build up with no release and just so much crazy denial and confusion,” Caitlin elaborated awkwardly, pursing her lips.

“Yeah, even then. Even when certain thoughts of doing certain….things with, and to the other person are consuming your every waking moment. Because pacing yourself is the smart thing to do. Follow the rules, stay levelheaded, be normal.” He put his hands in his pockets and examined his sneakers. 

“Glad we’re on the same page,” Caitlin confirmed. Then did an about-face blurting abruptly, “I wish we were already making out.”

“Are you wearing a bra?” Harry asked. She smiled and shook her head “no.”

They were in each other’s arms within the next heartbeat, kissing deeply, Harry lifting Caitlin onto the table and holding her by the hips, pulling her against him. “Let’s go to your room,” she suggested, shameless. 

Between kisses, they managed to half-back and stumble their way to his quarters, slamming the door behind them as they collapsed onto his bed in a passionate tangle of limbs. “Caitlin,” Harry growled as she lifted his shirt over his head, then trailed her fingers down his chest and stomach, teasing and arousing his bare skin. He kissed her mouth, his tongue exploring her with a skill that made her shiver in pleasure, imagining other places for him to do that. 

Then he stopped for a moment, a little breathless, his voice against her ear in a self-reproaching whisper, “We shouldn’t.”

“Are you crazy?” Caitlin almost hissed, about 95 percent sure she would die if he stopped now. Okay, so that idea was melodramatic, but seriously, this was no time for him to have second thoughts!

“I’ll mess this up somehow, I always ruin everything, and you don’t deserve to be the latest victim of my disaster wake,” Harry explained.

“Harry,” She corrected him, taking her face in his hands, tenderly caressing him, “You’ve been lonely too long. You need to stop being afraid of life, of love. Yes,” She added, noticing the surprised shift in his expression, “I love you, I always have. I was just too scared to admit it to myself because the feeling was so strong. I’ve never felt anything like this before and I doubt that I ever will again, so just, please. Go ahead. Mess me up. Right here, right now. I’m yours.”

“How can that be possible?” Harry seemed to be demanding the answer not only of her, but the universe. “I don’t deserve—”

Caitlin decided that Harry needed to shut up now. It wasn’t that she didn’t love the sound of his voice, because it was quite possibly her number one favorite sound. It wasn’t that she resented his doubts, because they only proved what a thoughtful, idiotically humble, guy he was for all of his genius-scientist peacocking. Underneath was a man who had been so alone for so long that he assumed he was just driving people away. He was trying to protect her. And Caitlin thought that if he didn’t stop talking right now, he was going to talk himself right out of this chance at real happiness.

She didn’t choose to interrupt him verbally. Instead, Caitlin just chose a moment, somewhere in the middle of his neurotic tirade, and softly, silently removed her t-shirt. She’d been truthful earlier: she wore nothing underneath. Just her body, half-bared to him, her heart about to burst with nervous anticipation. A leap worth taking.

Caitlin tuned back into Harry’s rant. He was elaborating, “And, and everyone knows that I’m impossible to get along—” Then he saw what Caitlin had done and his tongue stilled instantly. Harry gazed at her in lovestruck awe for just long enough to finish his sentence. “With,” he murmured, kissing her eager lips without further hesitation.


	5. No one knows the secrets that you know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if this chapter is sort of on the upper end of the M rating and getting closer to Explicit, but...it's still pretty cute and vanilla ....spicy vanilla? You're forewarned. Anyway, hope you enjoy! ;)

“You must’ve really wanted me to shut up,” Harry murmured against Caitlin’s ear, his fingers tracing her spine.

“I just wanted you to shut up about not being good enough for me. I know better, much better,” She admitted, reaching down with the clear intention of removing his pants.

“Not so fast,” He chided teasingly. “You just said you love me, and then you clearly indicated that you wanted me to be quiet. On the subject of my insecurities, that is. At the moment, I agree. I think actions will speak louder than words in this situation.” He slid against her until she was laying down on her back, then he began kissing her upper chest, adding, “I think maybe I should just love every inch of you until you know exactly what I should have been saying all along.”

“Harry,” Caitlin whispered, her head tilting up and her eyes drifting shut as he stopped being quite such a tease and lowered his mouth to her breasts. He touched them tenderly with his fingers as he drew out each of her nipples, exquisite licking followed by light biting until she was so soaking wet that she wanted to skip the rest of the foreplay and continue onto the main event. The fear that she was actually going to explode from need and desire toyed with her every nerve ending, but if Harry guessed at her impatience, he didn’t quicken the pace any.

Instead of charging onward and ending her delicious suspense by ripping the rest of their clothes off and thrusting into her right at that moment, Harry smiled at her aroused reaction and licked the undersides of her breasts, then kissed her stomach, causing butterflies to swarm more intensely than ever. Caitlin sighed raggedly, losing her last vestige of patience. She sat up and kissed his mouth once more, a sensation that seemed to feel just like the first time every time, impossibly, only maybe even better. He let go of his own control of their encounter when she slid his pants and boxer briefs down, taking his length in her palm and stroking it. “God,” Harry choked out, sweat beading his forehead. He was giving his all in an attempt at restraint designed to make sure she was fully satisfied and Caitlin wanted to return the favor by, quite frankly, making him moan. 

“Let me show _you_ , too,” Caitlin requested, “Please, Harry.” He nodded and she leaned down to bestow her own attentions on him until he had to practically yank her back up, almost panting.

“Not yet, I don’t want to let go yet, I want to…” Harry kissed her lips and took control again, turning the tables on a very willing Caitlin. He pressed his mouth against her panties, white silk this time, and they both lost a breath, between the erotic thrill that went shooting through her at this light touch against her most intimate area, and his own observation of the very moist and hot state she was in.

He licked her over the white silk and Caitlin gave a moan of her own, one which reminded him of the temptations of her lips. Harry returned to kiss them again and pinned her wrists to the bed. She made a sound that was almost a whimper, and he responded to the helpless plea, removing her panties with perfectly torturous slowness, sliding them slowly down her thighs and legs, then taking one of her legs and placing it over his shoulder. Harry kissed, licked and carefully nipped at her skin all the way from her leg to her shuddering core, following the sounds of Caitlin’s responses and the tension of her hand at the back of his head to discover how to proceed in order to send her over the edge.

She cried out, coming so hard that it almost hurt, her leg limp against him as he gently placed it back down on the bed. “Do you feel how much I love you?” Harry asked, and she nodded, wanting more even though she should have been perfectly content to gather herself for a few minutes after the sensations that had just rocked her body.

“Do you want to know more about how you make me feel?” He inquired intently.

“You know I do,” Caitlin replied, then kissed him again and again. Even though oxygen wasn’t something she seemed to have in spades at the moment, she didn’t care. 

“Before we go any further, do you, I mean are you, I don’t have. I should have thought to have, but I wasn’t expecting, and I’m not…” Harry trailed off awkwardly and Caitlin smiled at his return to nervousness after so obviously showing that he knew how to take the reigns and be rather confident. _Very_ confident. Very skillful and strong and…Caitlin lost the thread of her humorous reaction to his cute attempt to ask about the necessary protection. 

“Yeah, yes, mmmhmm, I have, I mean, I thought to,” She ended up mumbling somewhat nonsensically, and it was crazy, because really, she shouldn’t have any protection, as likely as sex had seemed to her recently. It was just a pack of flavored condoms which had been thrown into the mix of some joke games at Iris’s recent bachelorette party, but by some miracle Caitlin had wound up tossing them into her desk at the lab, laughing at them as she did so. It didn’t seem so funny now. Yes, she’d slipped one into her pocket earlier, without even asking herself why. Caitlin reached one hand over to her pants on the floor, without even looking, without ever dragging her eyes from Harry’s searing gaze. She found what they needed.

He slid himself up and down against her slick entrance several times, causing her to sink her nails slightly into his back, her legs hitched around him, her other hand clutching the pillow for dear life. “How does that feel?” Harry asked, unspeakably turned on by her reactions. She liked it a lot, this side of him, the wanting to know, his dedication to her pleasure, the pleasure he took from it. This previously unseen side of his personality, the one probably only she could bring out of him, was going to be very addictive, she knew.

“It feels,” Caitlin replied, moving up and down in time to his own motions, “Amazing.” He gasped in response to the friction and she added, “It feels like I want you inside me now.” Caitlin knew for a fact that she had absolutely never spoken words so brazen, or been this bold in the bedroom, _ever._ Why did it seem to be coming to her so naturally now, with Harry? He thrust into her, and she realized that she didn’t care; she was just going to give into it.

Again, they seemed to know one another inside out in a way that made it easy to guess the right way to position themselves and how to reply with their bodies to every need. Harry pumped in and out of her, long and deep, as Caitlin clung to him, forgetting everything in the world except for the ecstasy of being with him, fully and completely, and she let her hands fall to his hips, following his movements and urging him on until she went hurtling over the edge, grateful he was there to catch her. Harry sighed hard, biting her shoulder when he came, and she grasped his back, holding him against her, their hearts pounding so close, only skin and bone to separate them ever again. 

They lay rather chaotically sprawled across the bed, panting, staring at the ceiling, their fingers intertwined, very gradually regaining some semblance of composure. “Harry,” Caitlin said finally, turning over on her side to look at him.

“Hmm?” He asked, gently lifting the sheet to cover her shoulder as she snuggled in closer.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” she smirked, knowing this would prompt him to laugh.

“Why, thank you,” Harry retorted, gesturing at the completely bare walls, plus the bookcase and tables covered in disorganized papers and books. “I feel like the complete lack of anything really lends the whole room a sort of…artfully minimalist vibe.”

“Not the lack of _anything,_ Caitlin teased, resting her face against his chest. “You do have not one, but two mini-fridges. Let me guess. They’re both empty.”

“Au contraire, mon amour,” He answered breezily. “In fact, there’s leftover pizza and possibly a carton of orange juice with exactly one sip left in it. So there.”

“You did invest in a bed,” She observed.

“I did, I decided to upgrade from the cot that was here when I moved in. My back was killing me.” 

“I give great massages,” Caitlin said silkily. Harry’s fingers nestled in her still ever-so-slightly damp hair, which had fallen from its clip when they were too distracted to notice. He stroked the strands lovingly, watching them fall against the pillow.

“Oh, I bet you do,” Harry replied, chuckling. “I’m also pretty sure you’re going to drive me insane. Cause of death: Caitlin Snow being too sexy for words, and way too much for me to handle.”

“You seemed to handle me pretty well just now,” she reminded him. “Actually, I might even use the word, ‘perfectly.’”

“That’s quite a compliment.”

“You earned it.”

They laughed again, not at anything funny, but just at the sheer force of their blissful state. “So maybe I should get going,” She suggested, teasing him with the ludicrous concept.

“If you try to move, I’ll seduce you again,” Harry threatened archly.

“Hey,” Caitlin remarked, sitting up and bopping him on the head with a pillow. “I think _I_ did the seducing.”

“That means it would be my turn,” he promised. Caitlin couldn’t resist the proposition, so she yawned and stretched, then slipped her sweatshirt back over her head.

“I’m so tired. Better head home for a nap,” she threatened, making to leave the bed. Harry took her elbow lightly and she grinned.

He grinned back, the smile pure and free from doubt or underlying suspicion of impending doom. Caitlin adored that look on him. She wanted to get used to it. Harry pulled her back against his chest and asked, “What if I have a better idea?”


	6. Muscle memory

“So,” Cisco smirked the next day as he and Harry were going through the massive amount of intel gathered from the hack on DeVoe.

“So,” Harry said tersely, knowing his friend’s insinuation all too well. Cisco wanted to know what was going on between him and Caitlin, and he wanted to talk about how great it was, and about _feelings_ , and the mere idea made Harry want to throw his tablet at his best pal’s head.

“Don’t play coy with me, Harry. I know a man in love when I see one. I get that same misty look in my eyes when I think about my sweet Gypsy.” Cisco laid a hand on his heart and sighed.

Harry had to admit that he probably did have some kind of a dopey, “misty” expression. He’d been staring at this particular page of information, which didn’t happen to contain anything that pressing or scandalous, and its comparative irrelevance to their cause had freed his mind to revert to Caitlin. She seemed to be his thoughts’ natural resting place. Her soft smile, the spun gold in her eyes, her hair spilling across her bare shoulder the night before, the way she tasted, the way _all_ of her tasted…

“God! Alright, fine,” Harry relented, throwing his pen across the lab.

“Dude, you have no chill,” Cisco observed, jumping up and crossing the room to retrieve the pen. “This is gel ink, my fave.”

“I’ve never had chill,” Harry retorted drily. “Look, I can tell you want me to confide in you or whatever, so okay. Yeah. I’m confiding. Under duress.”

“ _Yesssss?”_ Cisco asked, resting his chin on his hands and batting his eyelashes. Harry groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I love, I love Caitlin, okay. I’m in love with Caitlin Snow, I admit it. It’s out there in the universe, gossip away. Live off of the hugeness of this crazy revelation or whyever else you so desperately want to know. Just quit bugging me.”

“I know you love her, man,” Cisco said, rolling his own eyes. “And I’m not asking because I want to gossip or enjoy how you cringe when you actually open up to someone, although that second part is a total bonus because — your face! The real reason why I care is that Caitlin is my best friend, and _crazily_ enough, Harry, you are also my best friend.”

“Really, me?” Harry asked.

“Cuh-learly,” Cisco replied. “I’m excited to see you guys happy, finally! I never thought it would be with each other, but come on — what’s better than that! Basically, I’m putting in for dibs on best man now because—”

“Whoa, Ramon, you’re getting ahead of yourself there. Up until a couple of days ago, I never even thought I had a shot in hell with that woman.” 

“Right.”

“Because she is a goddess and I’m…” Harry sighed. “I’m so far below her that I’m not even a mere mortal by comparison. I’m like…an underworld minion or something.” Outside of Caitlin's company, all of his old worries were trying to creep back in against his will.

“Caitlin doesn’t seem to think you’re beneath her,” Cisco pointed out, starting the reply on a serious note before adding, “Although I’m sure you have been!” 

Harry rolled his eyes and scanned the desk for something else to throw at Cisco, who ducked instinctively.

“Although you obviously need to get over this whole ‘I am not worthy’ thing, it’s more than apparent that you adore Caitlin,” Cisco resumed, daring to pop his head back up. “And therefore, my friend, I advise you to consider the inevitability of putting a ring on that.”

Harry grumbled something about “presumptuous” and “prying” mixed among a number of colorfully woven expletives, but Cisco just spun back and forth on his chair, quipping, “When it happens, remember that I called dibs on best man.” 

Then Harry saw a new piece of intel pop up on his screen that made him sit bolt upright. “Cisco, this is major.”

***************************************************************************************

Iris slid into the booth across from Caitlin at Jitters and handed her friend a steaming mug of peppermint mocha. She took a sip of her caramel macchiato and smiled knowingly, raising an eyebrow at Caitlin.

“What?” Caitlin asked, laughing.

“It’s just…” Iris blew on her drink, foam sinking into itself, sugary goodness mixed with copious caffeine lending the air a tempting aroma. She pressed her maroon-tinted lips together, brown eyes sparkling. “You look very…refreshed today.”

“Oh,” Caitlin replied happily, “Thank you.” 

“As if you’ve recently, very recently, had mind-blowingly good sex,” Iris added archly, causing Caitlin to almost choke on the grape she’d popped into her mouth from the fresh fruit medley in front of her. 

“Shhh!” Caitlin urged bashfully. She made a big deal out of straightening the necklace she was wearing so that the little charms all fell in place properly, then wiped nonexistent croissant crumbs from her silky, cranberry blouse.

“Well? Does that flabbergasted response mean that I’m right?” Iris beamed.

“Between your nosy observations and using words like ‘flabbergasted,’ why does something make me think you kind of miss investigative reporting?” Caitlin asked insightfully.

“Yeah…maybe I do, a little. More than a little! Gah!" Iris sighed, then returned to her original topic. "You’re not so bad at figuring things out yourself, so how long did it take you to realize you had feelings for Mr. Harrison Wells of Earth 2?” 

“About one second,” Caitlin admitted with a smile Cisco would certainly have termed “misty.” “But you know, it was weird, when we first met. He looked just like the evil nemesis we’d recently defeated.” She began ticking reasons off of her fingers. “He was from another world. And when he started working with us, Harry was so _cold_ all the time, so determined to stay in his shell. Not exactly an easy guy to get close to.”

“What made you want to try?” Iris inquired, curious as ever.

Caitlin thought back, her cheeks turning slightly pink. The emotions were so sensitive and tender that even with a close friend, confiding made her self-conscious. “I, um…I needed to be near him, if he’d let me. I could see through that tough exterior he projected. There was a lot of pain underneath, and I think there still is, but he’s come a long way. He finally started to open up to me, more and more lately.”

“It must have been so hard waiting all that time for him to let you in,” Iris mused.

“I guess I didn’t make it much easier for him, always too afraid to let my feelings show,” Caitlin replied reflectively. “I mean, my romantic track record isn’t exactly encouraging. Ruining my friendship with Harry was a pretty terrifying concept.”

“Sounds like the friendship’s ruined now,” Iris grinned.

“Oh, yes,” Caitlin admitted in a rush of excited, happily nervous breath. She gave in momentarily to the barrage of sexy flashbacks from last night that had been tugging on her brain all day. The mere thought of the next time she was going to see Harry and how that might go was enough to get her blood pumping pure lava. “It’s all kinds of ruined. In the best ways possible.” Despite the cute turn of phrase, Caitlin knew in her heart that being with Harry romantically only enhanced the amazing friendship they shared and elevated it to a whole other level. It felt more than incredible…it seemed like absolute magic.

**************************************************************************************************

“So here's what's up,” Cisco began, addressing Team Flash as they settled in to hear about the urgent matter that had caused them all to be quickly summoned. “Harry totally stumbled on a massive spoiler alert regarding DeVoe’s _eeevilll scheeeme_.”

“Stumbled upon, I didn’t stumble upon anything,” Harry objected crabbily. “I _found_ it using my keen skills of detection.”

“I’m sure,” Caitlin joked, smirking as Harry blushed, a rare reaction she had the privilege of inducing in him.

“Anyway,” Harry said, smiling and shaking his head, “We’re very close to finding out exactly what DeVoe’s planning to do in order to take the Flash out of play. But there’s just one problem.” He turned his tablet around, displaying a page filled with code more complicated than the gang had ever seen.

“You mean we’ve got to decode all of _that_ to find out what he’s planning?” Barry scratched the back of his head, but refused to let his hopes be dampened. “Ah well, I guess it’s a start,” he shrugged.

“Cisco and I have already started trying to crack this, but this code is insane. It’s like a cypher wrapped up in a million algorithms and cloaked in impossible equations,” Harry elaborated.

“Yes, it’s definitely the nefarious Russian Doll of encryption,” Cisco agreed. “But if anyone can figure this out, it’s us. Just wanted you all to know exactly what we’re up to. If DeVoe comes at any of us again before Harry and I are done decrypting the intel, just try to escape in one piece like he and Caitlin did last time. Once we get a better idea of what he’s got up his sleeve, we can retaliate accordingly, before he even has a chance to put his plot in motion…you know, ideally.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Iris nodded. “Caitlin, can you continue analyzing DeVoe’s biology and the way his whole super-cyborg-brain physiology works? I’m hoping we can have an ace up our own sleeves in case we ever need it.”

“Find his Achilles Heel,” Caitlin agreed. “On it.”

Everyone went off in different directions to work on their part of the DeVoe thwarting strategies, but Harry took a moment before heading off with Cisco to stop by Caitlin's desk.

“Hey,” Caitlin greeted him, her face lighting up. 

“Hey,” Harry replied, leaning closer to her face. “I know we have a lot of work to do. I just wanted to say that…I miss you.”

“Miss you, too,” Caitlin answered, even though they’d only been apart a few hours. But honestly, who knew how long they’d be preoccupied with this latest mission? Her heart felt a firm tug of regret that it might be quite a while before they could be alone again. But still, whenever it was possible, they would be, and they could pick up where they’d left off. 

“I’m going to be working my ass off solving this so I can get back to you,” Harry promised, “And with an incentive that powerful, I’m fairly confident that victory will be ours.”

Caitlin looked around, glad they had the room to themselves for the moment. She kissed his mouth, intending a brief touch of their lips, but unable to resist the temptation to draw the experience out, make it softer, slower, tantalizing and spine-tinglingly suggestive. “Here’s to incentives,” she said when they pulled back from one another.

“I’ll say,” Harry replied, almost bolting from the room out of dual need to force himself to leave her and to get to work immediately. Caitlin leaned her face against her open hand, her cheeks hot and her lips buzzing. _Damn,_ she thought. Watching him walk away wasn’t such a bad way to assuage her regret that they had to be apart for a while, she mused with a grin.

*******************************************************************************************

Caitlin worked hard all day, frustrated repeatedly by the improbably complex nature of DeVoe’s brain technology, which seemed almost perfectly constructed to prevent being sabotaged. His vulnerabilities, when in his hoverchair and connected to his superbrain network, were few. She chewed her lip, tapping her pen on her desk. Yes, part of his naked brain had to be exposed for him to hook into the network. That was a huge vulnerability, if they were the kinds of heroes who went around simply killing villains instead of going out of their way to jail them instead. Of course, such people wouldn’t actually _be_ heroes as far as she was concerned, so that made just shooting DeVoe in the grey matter a no-go, or at least a last resort.

She stood up and walked around the room in a circle, considering alternative ways of tackling the problem. “Wait a minute!” Caitlin exclaimed all of a sudden, clasping her hands together. What if…?

Caitlin ran down the hall to the room where Cisco and Harry were bickering over the equations and blurted, “What about the cerebral inhibitor?”

“Hmm,” Harry pondered, a pencil poised between his lips, slightly distracting her.

“No, no way,” Cisco said, worry blossoming across his face. “That thing is totally unpredictable. It’s just a prototype.”

“I know how badly you feel about when it malfunctioned and wiped Barry’s memories last year,” Caitlin replied, “But put that aside and really think about it, Cisco. You can modify it, you can fix it. Give yourself a good shot of that Cisco Ramon adrenaline and self-confidence, okay? You can do this! We can reconfigure the inhibitor to negate DeVoe’s abilities. After all, wasn't that what Savitar predicted about it?"

“Oh, right, like that guy was Mr. Reliable and Trustworthy. If this goes sideways, we could actually enhance his powers,” Cisco stressed, his forehead creasing in a way it hardly ever did. Suddenly, the grinning Pokeman on his t-shirt seemed at odds with his attitude. “Or he could go braindead, which frankly, doesn’t sound like the world’s worst outcome at the moment, given how infuriating the man’s code is!”

Cisco’s dry-erase marker whizzed through the air, colliding with the wall and snapping open.

“I’m just gonna go put the top back on that before it dries out,” he said, recovering from his momentary lapse into a Harry-like temper burst.

“Cisco,” Caitlin said quietly, putting a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder, “It’s more than worth a try. Deep down, you know that.”

Cisco rolled his shoulders back. “Okay, I’ll try. But _no_ promises.”

“I will keep working on the encryption while you get on that,” Harry determined.

“I’ll help you,” Caitlin said to Cisco, taking her newly replaced phone out to text an update Iris on their plans.

“Let me go get that wacked-out piece of junk,” Cisco groused, heading off to retrieve the inhibitor from their archive of tech gear.

“They said that about R2-D2,” Harry called after him.

“Guess it’s just you and me, probably for five whole minutes,” Caitlin observed.

“You know, you’re so good at that, the way you just encouraged Cisco, restored a little bit of his faith. People tend to believe in themselves when you believe in them, Snow.” Harry’s eyes blazed with affection as he drew her close for a stolen moment, their hips brushing in a treacherously beguiling manner. She found it sexy when he called her “Snow,” always had. As happy as she was that Harry had begun calling her "Caitlin" more often, she was glad “Snow” remained in the mix. Even early on, when he’d called her by her last name, there was quite a different edge to his tone than the grumpy disregard with which he’d snapped “Ramon” or “Allen.” 

“Hey, give yourself a little credit, too,” she insisted as his arms encircled her. The movement on his part was now so natural, so ridiculously satisfying for both of them. “There’s a reason why Cisco considers you his _other_ best friend. You’ve always been there for him.”

“You mean, except when I spent a year away, back on Earth-2,” Harry recalled regretfully.

“We’re not talking about Cisco anymore, are we?” Caitlin wondered, tracing his jaw with her finger as he gently kneaded her back. Wow, she wasn’t the only one with a talent for massage. The tension of a day’s work dissipated from her spine and she relaxed into the feeling of the memories Harry had evoked, unafraid to contemplate them. The emotion was bittersweet but with a happy ending.

“I guess not. I just wanted to let you know that I thought about you…I hated being away from you every single day. Constantly. Jesse was all over me asking why I never dated. One time she tricked me into a blind date and I pretended to have an allergic reaction to water.” 

“Water?” Caitlin burst out laughing. “Convincing.”

“I know, right? I didn’t care, I just had to get out of there. But I couldn’t stand to be here working with you every day, knowing my feelings were one-sided, watching you date other guys…it was torture and a big part of why I left was that — maybe in a cowardly way or weakly — I just couldn’t bear that pain anymore.” Harry sighed, caught up in the sadness of that decision, as he finished this confession, but Caitlin raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Ever notice how awesomely all of my other relationships worked out? If I wasn’t dating a serial killing speedster, it was onto a sweet but hopelessly confused forensic analyst who found it easier to run back to England than just tell me that dating a part-time meta was too much for him to handle. I honestly don’t even know why I bothered. I guess I kept hoping I’d fall for someone else and get over you—” Harry kissed her then, washing away both of their sad memories of past mistakes, restoring them to the bliss of the present tense.

“I’m not going anywhere ever again, unless you tell me to,” Harry promised.

“If you ever leave me again, I’ll chase you down,” Caitlin replied, “Unless _you_ tell me to stay.”

“Well, neither of those option b’s sound very likely.” Something about his confident smile told her that he had let go of a little more of his doubt about being able to provide her with the relationship she needed.

“Pretty much impossible,” she agreed.

“So,” Harry asked, running his fingers through her hair, “What kinds of things would you like to ask me to do to you?” He cleared his throat. “Uh, I mean, what would you like me to do, you know, just in general?”

“You had it right the first time,” Caitlin assured him as their lips met again, lost in each other, the world fading away until someone cleared their throat loudly behind them.

Amunet whistled, shaking her hand out and proclaiming, “Well, aren’t you two hot and heavy? Sorry to interrupt this sweet interlude, cupcakes, but I’m calling in my first favor with the good doctor here.”

Harry automatically stepped in front of Caitlin, but she put a hand on his arm to still his anxiety and answered, “Fine, but let’s get it over with quickly. We’ve got a lot of other problems to deal with around here without me rushing off to clean up yet another of your messes.”

“Wow,” Amunet grinned sarcastically, “I love you too. Come on, then,” She beckoned.

Caitlin knew how little Harry liked this situation, but had no choice other than to follow Amunet to whatever new madcap scenario was in store.

When they’d left, Harry quickly fell into a near-frantic level of stress. There was absolutely no way he could relax knowing that Caitlin was in God knew what kind of situation with Amunet and her gritty crime syndicate. But he was obligated to put his all into cracking DeVoe's encryption, not protecting his girlfriend. 

_Girlfriend,_ his thoughts repeated distractedly, a tiny social experiment to see how the word felt. It only intensified his protective instincts and made him determined to find a way to get his assigned job done while making sure Caitlin stayed safe.

Dammit, he would find a way. He had to.


	7. Heartkiller

Caitlin lifted the blood-sopping bandage and winced. The man she was treating, one of Amunet’s employees, did all he could to avoid showing how much pain he was in; a mere grimace was his response as she applied a local anesthetic and began stitching him up.

“You should really consider another line of work,” she advised, carefully pulling the needle.

“And maybe you should mind your own business and keep stitching,” the man spat back, uninterested in turning over any new leaves.

“It’s your funeral,” Caitlin murmured. Amunet came sweeping in looking pleased.

“Fabulous,” she enthused. “I’ve got several more patients for you when you’re done with Lars here.” Making note of Caitlin’s disapproving expression, she added, “Unless you’re ready to turn into Killer Frost and go out collecting debts for me, that is. No? K.” She slapped a fresh stack of surgical gloves on the table beside Lars’ cart with a puff of powder and a whiff of cheap rubber. “I’ll send the next few in. You’re here for one more hour and we’ll consider favor numero uno complete.”

Unfortunately, the next two patients made Lars look like Mary Poppins. The enormous, burly pair of brothers had several gunshot wounds to be treated, though none of them very serious. Although she knew the thought was wrong, Caitlin actually started wishing that their wounds were more serious after a few minutes. As they leered repulsively at her and snickered, adding a running commentary on her looks and “playing doctor,” Caitlin would have appreciated them being unconscious.

“Okay,” she announced when, mercifully, their injuries were thoroughly cleaned and bandaged. “You’re good to go.” She pulled off her gloves, tossing them into the garbage, as one of the brothers took her elbow, pulling her closer to him, and the other stood in front of her threateningly.

“Bet Amunet wouldn’t mind if we had a little fun with you,” The older brother sneered.

“Matter of fact, no reason she even has to find out, if we don’t leave too many marks,” said the other one, and Caitlin took a few very deep breaths, letting them out slowly, trying to use mindfulness to keep her heartbeat steady and prevent Killer Frost from emerging.

In her favor was the fact that this was very far from the first time she’d been threatened by Amunet’s goons. However, all of those other times, she’d simply allowed her alter-ego to take over…and take out the trash. So how was Caitlin Snow going to handle this?

As it happened, she never got a chance to find out, because Harry appeared — seemingly out of nowhere — and smashed the older brother over the head with a metal tray as hard as he could. “Would you look at that,” he smiled coldly as the remaining brother looked at him in astonishment. “You know, I’ve heard that the bigger an asshole someone is, the harder they fall. Let’s test it out on you.” He wielded his energy rifle as Caitlin’s would-be assailant growled and balled up his fists.

“Harry!” Caitlin exclaimed, her shock finally bursting from her lips. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I followed you,” Harry explained, “Turns out, it was a good idea. Now, what do you say, big boy? Count your losses and make a run for it, or help me make a hole in that wall behind you? I think you’ll land…about three rooms away.”

But the younger brother merely chuckled. “Don’t think that’s a choice I’ll have to make.”

His elder sibling had revived, lunging upward to grab Harry by the neck and slamming him face-first into the cart beside them. That was the last straw for Caitlin. She shut her eyes, infuriated on all different levels she didn’t even want to analyze at the moment, and let icy vapors begin to spread from her fingertips.

“Um, Caity-Cat says you probably shouldn’t have done that,” Killer Frost said right before she drove icicles into each man’s heart. “Apologize for insulting her honor and hurting her pathetic little nerd boyfriend, or I’ll drive them all the way through, and trust me, it tickles.”

“Sorry,” they both panted, pinned to the ground in agony as Killer Frost’s glistening blue lips pursed and her eyes flashed with white rage. 

“I’m sorry too,” she replied, her voice trembling with pent-up power and frustration. “See, I’ve been kept inside Caitlin for too long this time and I’m just itching to hurt someone like I’ve been hurting all this time. Plus — and this is weird, I’ll grant you — but I seem to have some sort of protective instinct about Snow. Guess you could say I almost feel like she’s my adorably hapless little sister, even if she does hold me hostage in _our_ own body. What you tried to do to her puts me in an even worse mood than I already was, so…bye, boys.” Killer Frost smirked, raising her hand upward as she drove the icicles far enough into the mens’ hearts to kill them. They cried out once, very quickly, but were cut off as their lives expired.

“Too bad,” Killer Frost complained, examining her nails. “They deserved to suffer more.”

“What in the hell is going on in here?” Amunet shouted, uncharacteristically worked up, as she came running in and saw the bodies of her henchmen on the ground. She calmed down quickly, but it was a frightening sort of calm, deceptive, dripping with venom. “Those boys were extremely valuable to me. What’s more, as members of my team, they were under my protection.”

Killer Frost pouted, sarcasm unphased even as more of Amunet’s minions came in and grabbed her by the arms, slapping power-inhibiting cuffs on her before she could freeze them. “Then I guess it’s too bad that your precious boys here tried to sexually assault Caitlin.”

Amunet hesitated for a beat. “Still,” she determined, “You didn’t have to kill them. I could have dealt with their misconduct, punished them accordingly myself, and continued to benefit from their services.”

“True,” Killer Frost allowed, “But I just had so much fun!” She grinned wolfishly. “I mean really, I gotta get out more often. I’m practically giddy right now.”

“Throw them in a cell,” Amunet snapped as Harry sat up, groaning and rubbing his forehead.

“Caitlin?” He murmured in confusion.

“Oh, no,” Killer Frost objected, trying to back away from Harry. “Keep him far away from me. For some crazy reason, this geek has the ability to turn me back into a goody-two-shoes doctor, and I don’t want that to happen again anytime soon.”

Amunet giggled, the sound hollow and mocking. “Put them in the smallest cell we have, together,” she ordered.

***************************************************************************************

Killer Frost stood haughtily in one corner of the cell, refusing to look at Harry. He’d been asking for Caitlin, sluggish and disoriented, but she’d managed to resist, though the urge to revert tugged at her aggravatingly.

Finally, Harry seemed to give up. He lay on the floor of the cell looking…like he was in bad shape, Killer Frost discerned with a stolen glance. “You okay?” She barked out.

He sighed. “My head is pounding and I’m a little dizzy.”

“How dizzy?” She demanded, her voice still rude enough to project uncaring despite the concern she was beginning to reveal. “Can you stand up?”

“Good question,” Harry replied, blinking. He held onto the wall, trying to rise, but fell down again helplessly. “Guess not.”

“You’ve got a concussion,” Killer Frost diagnosed, irritated with herself for noticing. Apparently, Caitlin’s medical knowledge had somewhat blended into her mind. “Headache, dizzy, uncoordinated, you’re…you took a pretty savage blow to the head back there. Makes sense, I guess.”  
“Yeah,” he agreed, his eyelids slipping down as he sighed softly again. “Is fatigue a symptom too?”

“You shouldn’t sleep now, it could be bad for you,” She objected sharply, a frantic feeling intruding on her from Caitlin, who was fighting harder than ever to reemerge. Fighting…so hard…Killer Frost shuddered. _No._

“ _No!_ ” She shrieked at the top of her lungs, but Harry didn’t hear her. He’d drifted into unconsciousness, his hands open against the floor, and Caitlin reappeared, immediately sinking to her knees beside him.

“God, no,” She worried, checking his pulse. Thankfully, it was steady. “Harry,” She urged gently, “Wake up. You need to wake up. Please.”

He didn’t stir for a while, so she carefully placed his head on her lap and rubbed his back, then caressed his face. “You idiot,” she murmured adoringly.

Finally, he responded, eyes opening lazily, blue gaze unrepentant but sheepish. “I had no choice. Look what almost happened to you. What else could I do…” His voice was still a bit weak.

“I really wanted to slap you for coming after me and almost getting yourself killed, but you went and got yourself a concussion, so I’m going to tell you this gently,” Caitlin answered him, her smile wry but pained. “I can handle myself. I would have been fine.”

He managed to sit up with her help, and cupped her face in his hand, asking, “How can I possibly know that?”

“Harry, you can’t just drop everything and go running into the lion’s den every time I _might_ be in trouble. Not least of all because the team needs you working on the DeVoe decryption full-time. When you’re here, we always need you doing what you do best. Not almost getting yourself killed, not for me. Now I’ve got blood on my hands again.”

“Cait, you didn’t kill anyone. Don’t start thinking like that again, please. Please?” He sighed again. “As far as I’m concerned, they got what they had coming to them, and if you expect me to feel otherwise about _anyone_ who wants to hurt you, then you don’t know me as well as we both thought.”

She looked into his eyes again to make sure his vision seemed okay. Although he wasn't at 20/20, given that his glasses had been broken and lost in the fight, he looked straight back at her, increasingly self-assured, regaining normal consciousness more and more. He released his grip on her, no longer needing her for physical support and respectful of her right to be angry with him.

“You can be mad at me as long as you want,” Harry told her, pulling away slightly in case she needed space.  


“I don’t want to be mad,” Caitlin clarified, tears pooling in her eyes. “I don’t want to _lose_ you, Harry. You need to be more careful. The worst part is, that was just like something—” She put a hand to her lips to hold off a sob, gulping and shaking her head.

“Just like what?” He asked, perplexed, deeply discomforted at seeing her so upset.

“It was just like something H.R. would have done! And he’s dead, Harry. Do you get that?”

“I know, I understand, Caitlin, I’m sorr—” There was Harry’s apology, finally, but Caitlin wasn’t done explaining. She stood and stared around at the walls of their cell, her voice wavering.

“I was always a little too short with him,” She confessed regretfully, “Because he was here and he wasn’t you. And you were gone. But H.R. was our friend and we loved him. And he loved us, he sacrificed himself to save Iris and he would have done that to save any one of us! If any of that is in you, too, Harry, don’t ever act on it. I can’t have you dying to save me.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and she wiped them away in frustration.

“Caitlin,” Harry soothed, approaching her carefully.

“I can’t!” She yelled, grabbing his shirt, not too hard, holding her emotions back as best she could. “Not after Ronnie, and not after everyone else we’ve lost, the hell we’ve gone through, how lonely I’ve been. How long I waited for you, Harry, because I _waited_. So long. I won’t lose you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand” He said quietly as she melted against his chest, her tears wetting his shirt. He stroked her hair and added, “Deal. I can’t promise that I won’t do whatever is necessary to protect you if you need it, but I won’t be reckless again. Not like today.”

“Better not,” She replied, her voice muffled, her breath hot against his neck. She drew back enough to examine his face again. “You seem to be recovering.”

“I’m okay. I think I can walk,” He guessed, wiping a few last tears from her cheek with the backs of his fingers, tender and careful. He kissed the wet parts of her face and she took his hand, pressing her own lips to his knuckles.

“We have to get out of here. Give Amunet some time to simmer down before she comes calling again,” Caitlin said. “Any ideas?”

“Yeah,” He revealed, “Listen, Snow, I didn’t come here quite as unprepared as I let on. But I don’t think you’re going to like what I have in mind. Any chance that in spite of my screw-up today, you still trust me?”

She smiled again, finding it impossible not to. “More than anyone,” she confided.  
“Okay, then, take it on faith that this is the right thing to do,” Harry pleaded. “I will get us out of here, and then some.”

She raised her eyebrows, intrigued. “Alright. But no more heroics.”

“Well, that’s a stupid rule, Snow, there’s no way to escape from this situation without heroics. Just…go with me on this one.” 

He squeezed his eyes shut and yelled, “Amunet!” at the top of his lungs without warning, making her jump in alarm. “I demand to speak to Amunet!” He straightened out his ripped black t-shirt, raking a hand through his disheveled hair and rolling his shoulders back. “Here we go.”


	8. Homemade Dynamite

“I don’t have time for this, so make it quick,” Amunet said distractedly as Harry and Caitlin were escorted into her “office,” a dark and intimidating room whose wall glistened with weaponry.

“I gotta admit, you got style,” Harry smirked, looking around. “Well, let’s get to it. You need to let us go right now.”

“I haven’t decided what to do with you, honestly,” she murmured, nails tapping listlessly, as if Harry and Caitlin were a low-level headache to her by now. “It’s not my top priority, more of a hobby.” She was looking over some blueprints, doubtless planning a heist of some kind. On the floor beside her desk, which looked like a lost prop from _50 Shades of Grey,_ Amunet’s buckets of sharp magnetic shards, her “bullets,” sat in an ominously convenient spot. 

Amunet glanced at the wall to check the time and invited, “Why should I let you go? I’m bizarrely, possibly fleetingly open to the idea, though Caitlin, you’re not off the hook for the rest of your favors. I find that I’m actually…” Her voice trailed off thoughtfully. “…rather sorry that you were nearly hurt like that under my roof. Despite the fact that you had no right to _kill_ those men. I don’t like it when other people make life or death decisions regarding my operation, and nobody here is officially allowed to throw a temper tamper except yours truly.”

Her unusually amenable attitude did little to reduce Harry’s barely-contained fury at the situation.

“You lured my girlfriend here under the auspices of paying off a debt by providing medical care for certain people who were misguided or _blackmailed_ enough to work for you,” Harry began, Caitlin still letting him take lead to see how his plan was going to play out. When she heard him say “my girlfriend,” it sounded so damn sexy that she took pause, forcing her mind back to the matter at hand. Very subtly, he’d glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, so she knew he liked saying it, too.

“Then you leave her _alone_ with two men who clearly could not be trusted alone in a room with a woman. And then she can’t help but turn into Killer Frost, who, as you know perfectly well, is a murderer — hello, it’s right there in the name! So, then you get mad at _us_ when those two ended up dead? Again, we’ll be leaving now.” Harry put a hand on Caitlin’s back and made to leave, but Amunet cleared her throat.

“You’re still my property until I say otherwise. When you took from me, you put yourself even further in my debt. I don’t really care if it was you or Frosty that did the deed,” Amunet told Caitlin. She slipped off her leather jacket and hung it on the back of her chair, sinking into it with an annoyed sigh. Flexing her fingers in her battle glove, she looked back over at them.

“On the other hand, you two are a nuisance at this point, far more trouble than you’re worth. Clearly, neither one of you gives a fuck what you have to do to protect the other, and I don’t need that powder keg and matches hanging around my business. So, I will make a simple trade for your complete freedom, the pair of you. Sound satisfactory?” She flashed her teeth in a blank smile, then reached under her desk to retrieve Harry’s energy rifle. “This seems handy.”

“Sure,” Harry said quickly, like he’d been expecting this proposal. 

“Are you kidding?” Caitlin whisper-hissed.

“Trust me,” He urged her, eyes still locked on Amunet. “Why don’t you give it a little trial run,” he suggested. “There’s one setting on there that only emits a low frequency blast. Try it out on some old junk you’ve got lying around. Have some fun.”

“Show me how it works,” Amunet agreed, intrigued. He strode over and clicked a few settings into place. She aimed the gun at a bin of shredded documents, then pulled the trigger. 

Instead of destroying the papers, the blast caused a cyclone of magnetic shards to rise up from her bucket and zoom towards the source of the energy which had summoned it. It happened so fast that she could never have anticipated it before the shards were poised directly in front of her face and Harry had wrested the gun back from her due to her momentary shock.

Obviously, he’d modified a copy of his original rifle to take on this specific foe.

Amunet’s armed guards had been dismissed, since she hadn’t seen Harry and Caitlin as much of a threat. Now, he hoisted the rifle and said quietly, “We’re leaving and Dr. Snow is never coming back here. Or else I will simply press the trigger again so that those shards fly directly into your wicked little skull. Your choice.”

“Get out,” Amunet muttered darkly, and Harry lowered the gun. She lifted her glove and returned the shards to their bucket. 

“See ya,” Caitlin said with a sarcastic little wave as she and Harry made a prompt exit.

“Pretty good plan,” She complimented him as they headed out to the van, which he’d parked nearby. 

“I was incredibly motivated to succeed,” Harry explained, but it sounded outrageously reductive. Caitlin couldn’t believe he’d had the time to design a new weapon and still get there just at the right moment to save her. Then it occurred to her that he must have already been brainstorming ideas for defeating Amunet’s powers in order to extricate Caitlin from her remaining debt to the crimelord. 

As she contemplated this, Caitlin’s heart skittered like a stone across a lake, mesmerized and slightly undone by everything about Harry. He’d done it so casually, so quickly and brilliantly, all for her.

They held hands as snow began to drift down lazily, Harry passing her the keys which Amunet’s people had returned to them on their way out. “I can’t drive without my glasses.”

“Uh, you also can’t drive when you’re recovering from a concussion,” she reminded him. 

“I’m fine,” he insisted, and she shook her head at his typically dismissive attitude about his own health. 

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Caitlin asserted, climbing into the van and starting it up as he sat down beside her. Despite his adrenaline-empowered heroics back there and his more recent words of reassurance, Harry looked beyond exhausted. “Hey. Relax,” she urged him, “We’re safe now.”

“Yeah, but there’s no rest for the weary, Snow,” Harry replied as they heard something beeping in the glove box. He pulled out his tablet and held it up with a wan smile. “I designed some software to work on the decryption while I was occupied with this Amunet problem. It’s done now.”

She turned out of the parking lot of the decrepit old warehouses where this particular part of Amunet’s crime empire was based. “Oh, ‘it’s done now,’” Caitlin smiled, doing a little imitation of Harry’s deeper voice. “No big deal. Who are you, Harrison Wells?”

Harry was proud and pleased as he waved her compliments off. “It was nothing. I mean, it was a fairly impressive application of my skills against two adversaries, simultaneously, but other than that…” She laughed fondly, reaching for his hand as they stopped at a red light.

“Snow,” he told her, serious again, “If I’m the man you love, then that’s my favorite part about who I am.”

*****************************************************************************************

“Damn, Harry! This is slick, even by your standards,” Cisco praised as everyone looked at the cache of information which Harry had decrypted, now displayed on the computer screens back at Star Labs.

“Thank you, thank you,” Harry said with a small bow. Caitlin winked, but then convinced him to sit down. He still needed to rest, after all.

“Guys, look at this,” Barry said, calling their attention to the screen where he’d focused his attention. “DeVoe’s planning to frame me for murder.” He let out a humorless laugh, his knuckles whitening on the desk he clutched as Iris’s comforting hand fell to his shoulder. 

“Whose murder?” Iris demanded, redirecting her own rage to determination.

After discovering, as their eager eyes scanned the screen, that DeVoe planned to take over the body of a young meta man whose own psychic abilities provided the the perfect host, it became clear how easy it would be for Clifford to simply abandon his current form. This would, of course, be an ideal chance to use the dead body to imply that Barry had murdered him.

“After all my impulsive behavior lately, the police will have no problem believing it, either,” Barry noted glumly.

“No,” Caitlin corrected him, “They _would have_ had no problem believing it, if we hadn’t found all of this out before DeVoe could put his plan into action.”

“Let’s hope,” Barry replied. “The most important thing is that we find this Dominic Lanse before DeVoe can take over his body.”

“Looks like Dominic’s abilities let him hear the thoughts of anyone in relatively close proximity to him,” Cisco observed. He spread his hands out grandly in the air, declaring, “‘Brainstorm.’”

“That works,” Harry nodded. Caitlin could remember the days of him grumbling in irritation every time Cisco named a new meta, but now he seemed to look forward to it, which was downright heartwarming. 

“DeVoe’s been tracking Lanse,” Iris noticed. “Looks like he’s at the airport…he works there. TSA.”

“Let’s go get him,” Barry suggested, more than ready to suit up and help put this harrowing ordeal with DeVoe behind them, just in time for Christmas.

“Agreed,” Iris said, “I’ll call Dad and let him know what’s going on.” They could always use Joe’s help and back-up from any understanding police officers her father might bring. But once they’d apprehended DeVoe, there was no place to put him but in a meta-fortified cell here in Star Labs. No court would ever admit this stolen, though damning evidence, and given his abilities, with just the slightest assistance from his wife, it would be no time before DeVoe escaped any normal facility.

Caitlin let Harry get as far as the door before she stopped him from following Cisco out on the mission. “Just where do you think you’re going?” 

He shrugged, so she elaborated: “Well, you’re definitely _not_ joining in on tonight’s op. The only place you’re actually going is home with me.”

“Sorry about that — old habits,” Harry relented, kissing her forehead. “But going home with you? That actually sounds extraordinarily good to me.”

**********************************************************************************************

“Okay, I’m not an invalid,” Harry laughed a little while later as Caitlin rested his arm around her shoulders and her own around his waist, leading him into her apartment.

She smiled playfully. “How do you know I’m not just looking for excuses to put my arms around you?” 

“Well, Dr. Snow, I place myself into your care.” He flashed her a mischievous smile.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Caitlin insisted, finger landing accusingly on his chest as he raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you flash those dimples at me like that.”

“Why not?” Harry inquired smoothly, taking her hand and kissing her fingers a little too slowly and suggestively for her to avoid extreme distraction.

“Because when you look at me like that, I get…thoughts,” she explained, blushing. “Not restful thoughts. And you need to relax!”

He smiled more softly and leaned close to her ear to reply, “I’ll do whatever you say.”

Caitlin cleared her throat loudly, but her cheeks remained deeply tinged in rose, her heartbeat quickening as her every pore screamed with desire. Still, she maintained composure. For now. Out of necessity.

“Let me see what I’ve got to eat,” Caitlin suggested, bringing him to the couch and easing him down. She pushed his jacket from his shoulders and removed her own before hanging them up on the rack by the door and flicking on the living room lamp and kitchen lights.

Happily, she’d been shopping recently and was able to make some turkey and avocado sandwiches, along with cups of tomato soup.

“Hydrate and eat up,” Caitlin ordered in a doctorly tone as she placed the meal in front of him on the coffee table, along with a large glass of water for each of them, and sank into the cushion beside him.

“You’ve been hiding another talent, Snow. This is delicious,” he observed, eating up obediently.

“Sure, I can make a sandwich and heat up some soup,” She allowed, taking a sip of water, “But just don’t ask me to make anything that actually involves the words ‘from scratch.’ Or, ‘the oven.’”

Harry chuckled. “I think my culinary skills are limited to ‘call for pizza’ and ‘go to Big Belly Burger,’ so you’re still way ahead of me.”

Somehow, when she’d finished eating, her legs found their way to his lap as she kicked her shoes to the floor and he immediately began to knead her feet. Caitlin sighed, her head hitting the throw pillow behind her, toes wriggling in satisfaction. “Stop that,” she begged unconvincingly, closing her eyes.

“Alright,” he said, ceasing his attentions.

“Don’t stop,” she added, so he massaged her heels and then her calves, his fingers wandering up her legs until Caitlin had to force herself to get up. “Come on,” she beckoned, taking his hand. He trailed her to the bathroom, where she placed a folded towel and washcloth in his hands and pointed at the shower. “You can go first,” Caitlin purred, batting her eyelashes in a small bit of payback.

Harry groaned as she traipsed away, closing the door behind her. “Snow, you’re going to be the death of me,” he called. Caitlin bit her lip with her back still against the door, failing to stifle a giggle. “I heard that!” Harry said, and she scurried away, laughing even harder.

Once they had both showered, Caitlin insisted that it was bedtime, but she’d completely forgotten the clean laundry she’d left on the bed to fold up at some later opportunity that had never actually arrived. “Ugh,” she complained.

“No problem,” Harry said briskly, lifting her right off the floor, over her laughing, weak objections that he needed to stop exerting himself. He lay her down on top of the mound of loosely strewn clothes and kissed her, holding himself back from getting too heated. But then, that became the problem. The more slow and drawn-out his kisses became, the more turned on Caitlin got, until the taste of his lips and tongue gradually roving over her own elicited a low moan in her throat. 

“Too much?” He asked quietly, gently scooping the laundry out from under them and depositing it into the basket beside the bed. Caitlin sighed, pressing her suddenly deprived lips together and touching his face. 

“Not enough,” she admitted. “Come here, you trouble-maker.” Caitlin pulled the covers down and got in, nestling into the pillow and reaching her arms out for Harry. He joined her happily and she laid her head on his chest, breathing him in as he toyed with the silky material of her white and black polka dot pajamas, making them seem as enticing to him as the skimpiest lingerie. “You hacked the man who was going to frame Barry for murder so we could cut him off at the pass, while rescuing me and extricating me from my deal with Amnuet, all in one day,” she murmured. “Harry, close your eyes. It’s time to sleep.”

“Mmm,” he replied sluggishly, surrendering to the notion. “I think I needed someone to teach me how to relax. You’re very convincing.”

“Does that mean I helped you, too?” Caitlin asked, “That’s reassuring. I felt like a bit of a damsel in distress today. I don’t like that feeling.”

“We all get distressed on a regular basis, Snow,” Harry answered, kissing her forehead. “Doesn’t make you any less of a badass. Plus, you’re _my_ hero, in case that fact wasn’t already extremely apparent. You’ve taught me more about compassion and integrity than I ever knew I had to learn. While helping to save Central City almost every single day _and_ dealing with Killer Frost drama. For you to start selling yourself short is ludicrous.”

“I guess multi-tasking is something we both do well,” Caitlin reasoned.

“And of course, trouble-making.”

“That too. No wonder we had our first kiss in the middle of being kidnapped. Anyway, if I don’t stop talking, I’ll go on all night, so I’m going to say good…night…” Mid-sentence, she noted through half-lidded eyes that he’d already drifted into slumber, heartbeat steady and strong against her ear. A perfect rhythm for Caitlin to sink into as sleep overtook her as well, deliciously well-earned.

But about an hour later, a distinct “clicking” sound made Caitlin jolt upright in bed, hand flying to her chest in the immediate understanding that someone had picked the lock of her front door. This was confirmed when she heard it swing open. She had left the door squeaky on purpose because with the life she led, at least it gave her an extra heads-up if the security system was disabled.

“Dammit,” she muttered angrily, gently rousing Harry, who lay beside her in a heavy sleep, his face looking so innocent that it broke her heart a little. 

After a few quick nudges, he woke, woozy and surprised, then his hand shot out to the new pair of glasses he’d picked up earlier. “What is it?” He asked under his breath, instantly a hundred times more alert when he saw the look on her face.

“Someone just broke in. They’re creeping around out there,” Caitlin whispered. She grabbed her phone and quickly read the screen. “The team captured DeVoe, but they sent me a text asking if I could come in soon and adjust the settings on the cerebral inhibitor. It isn’t keeping his powers fully subdued.”

They heard a loud thump in the living room and Caitlin rolled her eyes. “Sounds like my favorite vase.” Thank goodness for carpeting.

“This is probably one of DeVoe’s minions coming to finish us off,” Harry guessed. “I hacked his mainframe and you came up with the idea of using the inhibitor. Now the team needs you to fix it. No wonder he predicted that we would be the ones standing in his way.”

“I know,” Caitlin agreed, then allowed herself a huge sigh that ended in a colossal pout.

“Get ready,” Harry warned, creeping out of bed to retrieve his energy rifle as Caitlin grabbed the baseball bat she kept underneath.

“What the hell, Harry,” Caitlin complained, feeling fully warranted to whine at this point. “Seriously! When are we gonna get a _break?_


	9. Can we make the most out of no time?

Caitlin’s pout switched to a scowl when a ski-masked assailant came bursting through her bedroom door, gun lifted. Somehow, the sight of the silencer on the weapon intensified her anger until she had basically no problem stepping out from behind the door and whacking him on the back of the head with the bat. Drawing from her medical knowledge and the former scuffles she’d been involved with, Caitlin guessed that the force of the blow was enough to knock him out, but not to cause further harm.

Harry was kneeling on the other side of the bed, energy rifle at the ready, but now he just whistled and lowered his weapon. “Nice job, Snow.”

Caitlin called Joe so that the police would come and get the intruder. She had bigger matters in mind as she stuffed her feet into her snow boots and went back into the living room for her coat.

“Hey,” Harry said, scrambling after her. “You okay?” His warm and always reassuring hand on her shoulder made Caitlin’s face crumble slightly.

“He was just going to kill us, both of us, while we were sleeping, all so we can’t help the team to stop DeVoe’s powers from reemerging. Harry, if I hadn’t woken up…” She stroked his face, a tear sliding down her cheek as her lips trembled. Opening up to him was so natural. Even though there was no time to wallow in her fear and the trauma of someone trying to kill them yet again, it felt good to pause enough to digest what had just happened. If only for a moment. 

“This never gets any easier,” She sighed shakily. “I mean, I reacted so fast because I was that angry.” Caitlin processed her feelings as he listened, hugging her without another word. She felt it again, the flash of agonized terror morphing into cold, controlled rage. It had almost resembled the jumble of faded, confused memories she typically retained after turning into Killer Frost, with the only exception being the fact that Caitlin couldn’t just kill their attacker. 

Hitting that man had felt, in some savage, half-repressed part of her brain, _good._

If her own feelings and attitude could resemble Killer Frost's even as much as they just had, who was to say what Caitlin could ultimately be capable of doing, if pushed far enough? Oddly, she didn’t care anymore. Maybe she was actually just that exhausted by now, or it was her resentment against DeVoe somehow holding her firm in this resolve to accept her darker side. 

“Harry, you know what you told me about how you’d never let anything happen to me?” She pulled back to look into his concerned eyes, wiping her tears away and beginning to calm down, feeling more organized. Clear in her purpose, her drive. “That goes both ways. I don’t know how far I’d go if someone was trying to hurt you, and that might just be something I’ve got to learn to live with. No one will _ever_ hurt you. Not on my watch.”

“I don’t know what to say,” He answered, his voice tight with emotion, “Except that I love you, Caitlin. And I’m here, no matter what you’re going through, whatever you need to talk about. I always hope it’s me facing the danger and not you, even though that’s equally always going to be out of my hands. I guess _that_ is what I have to learn to live with.”

Caitlin smiled understandingly and kissed him, smoothing his sleep-mussed hair and straightening his glasses. “You’re so cute when you first wake up.”

“Well, I got nothing on you, Snow.” Harry found her soft wool hat on the coatrack and placed it affectionately on her head, then shrugged his own coat on. “At least it seems that DeVoe finally ran out of metas to send after us. I mean, realistically, how many people could have been on that bus? He’s gotta be pretty frustrated by now.”

“Oh, I bet he is,” Caitlin agreed, sneering at the slightest reference to their current adversary. “But he’s got nothing on me.”

***********************************************************************************

“Dr. Snow,” Clifford DeVoe remarked, arrogant disregard barely covering his fury at seeing her, at having been captured in the first place when his plan seemed so utterly foolproof. The genius, debunked and in shackles. Caitlin liked the look of it.

“Clifford,” Harry greeted him, following Caitlin into the room, tablet in hand. He took a seat at the edge of the desk near which DeVoe was strapped into a chair beneath the Cerebral Inhibitor apparatus. The blue-light shedding device encircled DeVoe’s head, and he was still encased in the uncomfortable-looking gadgetry of his costume. 

“And Dr. Wells,” DeVoe added in clipped tones, his hands hardening into fists. “I guess it really is getting quite hard to get good help these days. That’s twice I attempted to have the two of you taken off the playing board.”

“Mmm, guess it’s just not that easy to kill us, you disgusting snake,” Caitlin replied, her eyes widening with anger when she spoke the insult, though her tone remained smooth and nonchalant. “So anyway, our plan is to make sure you can never use this technology again, since it stands to reason that you’d eventually find a way to break out of any prison and plug yourself back in again.”

“Right,” Harry added, typing away at his tablet, “And none of us are really all that willing to become drones in your little superbrain army, or whatever you had planned for the world. Okay, I think that should do it, Cait.”

Caitlin scanned DeVoe and nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I think I see what’s missing in Cisco’s new version of the inhibiter. With just a few quick changes,” She murmured, leaning over to press some buttons on the device as DeVoe practically hissed his objections. He struggled in vain against the straps holding him in place and Harry chuckled.

“I have to say, this whole ‘turning the tables’ thing is pretty damn satisfying.”

“Right?” Caitlin chirped, derision towards DeVoe dripping from her tone. “There we go.” She patted the side of DeVoe’s head in a sarcastic show of doctorly care. “Just needed to change a few settings in order to ensure that you won’t be able to use your powers anymore. Whenever you’re in your normal state, your body will _function_ normally, and that includes your memory. But when you’re hooked into your Thinker suit and try to connect to your hoverchair’s tech, you won’t be able to retain a single piece of information. You’ll be flying blind. All thanks to the itty bitty cerebral inhibitor I basically just superglued to the inside of your brain.”

“Oh, that’s genius,” Harry enthused, giving Caitlin a high five. “So the inhibitor is designed to only react to the Thinker technology?” She nodded proudly.

“Exactly, Dr. Wells,” She grinned, a flirtatious lilt to her tone. “If Clifford here tries to use any of that technology again, he’s basically screwed.”

“You can’t do this to me, it’s a death sentence!” DeVoe almost shrieked, finally losing his composure. “My body is falling apart, I’m dying!”

“A death sentence,” Caitlin answered contemplatively, sitting next to Harry. “Like the one you were all too ready to hand out to Dominic Lanse? Don’t tell us he still would’ve been alive in there somewhere once you took over his body. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that _that_ is not living.” 

She got up again and leaned over DeVoe, who was breathing heavily, his helplessness and the humiliation of total defeat racking him with panic. “And as you were so quick to mention, you also tried to murder us. You’ve got more blood on your hands than that, and you don’t seem inclined at all to make amends, so know what?” She whispered the last words as he flinched: “As far as your _health concerns_ go, you can figure that out for yourself.”

“Who knows?” Harry added, slinging an arm over Caitlin’s shoulders. “With good behavior, we might be willing to let you have visitors. Medical care. No reason why not. If we determine that you’re going to behave, we may release you to a regular old human prison.” He analyzed DeVoe’s expression, which had shifted into pathetic hope. “Look at that! He looks like the evil magician at the end of _Frosty,_ when Santa tells him he might still get something in his stocking if he writes how sorry he is about a million times.” He laughed as Cisco came in to check on their progress.

“Oh, you guys are totally roasting DeVoe and I missed it,” Cisco lamented. He faced DeVoe and added, "I'm _laughing_ at the superior intelligence."

"Wrath of Khan reference," Harry noted, pointing to Cisco appreciatively. "Nice."

“Got the situation well in hand, I see," Cisco continued, turning back to Harry and Caitlin. "Thanks for coming.” He glanced at his friends’ tired faces and smiled sympathetically. “I know what a rough time you two have had of it lately. I mean, besides the whole ‘finding true love with each other’ part.”

“Yeah,” Caitlin admitted, exchanging loving looks with Harry, her hand covering his on her shoulder. “That part really wasn’t bad at all.”

“Once again, you guys crushed it," Cisco marveled. "Caitlin, you saved the day in less than fifteen minutes. In your p.j.’s!”

Caitlin giggled. “I left them on as a silent protest against the nonstop onslaught of trouble that’s been plaguing Harry and me. Technically, I saved _the night._ And I’m going to spend the rest of it sleeping.” She gave Cisco a hug and he clapped Harry on the shoulder.

“Goodnight, Ramon,” Harry called as he and Caitlin left the room. Cisco was already removing the Thinker gear from DeVoe’s head, now lowered in sulking admission of failure. 

“Night, guys! Fly away, you adorable little lovebirds, fly!”

Cisco laughed heartily as he heard Harry reply from halfway down the hall, “Shut up!”


	10. Insatiable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shifted Season 4 events around slightly so that we can imagine Crisis on Earth X to have occurred between the last chapter and this one if for some reason we are thinking about such things...lol. So Barry and Iris are married by now as well.
> 
> Also, this chapter features smut...all the smut...but hey, Caitlin and Harry totally earned it!

_A few weeks later…New Year’s Eve_

“Snow?” Harry coughed, waving a hand through the smoky air as he stepped into their apartment. Caitlin came running into the living room holding a chair and, without a word, climbed on it to switch off the fire alarm.

“There’s no fire, don’t worry!” She exclaimed hurriedly, taking the chair and scrambling back into the kitchen. 

Harry stood there a beat, thoroughly confused, before simply repeating, “Snow?” He followed her into the kitchen, where the center island was covered in baking ingredients.  
As Caitlin removed a tray of what should have been cookies from the oven, squinting through an angry grey fog, Harry righted a bag of flour that was on the verge of tipping over. “I thought you didn’t like to bake.”

Caitlin whipped off her candy cane-patterned oven mitts and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. “I don’t, and this is why. I just thought that since we were having everyone over tonight for the party, it would be nice if at least one item we’re serving was, you know, homemade instead of catered.”

Harry smiled and gave her a kiss, examining the tray of blackened fossils on the stovetop. “Well, I think they look great.” 

“No they don’t,” she objected petulantly.

“Okay, no they don’t, but it was sweet of you to try, and you did a better job than I would have,” He insisted, drawing her closer and playing with the bow on the back of her reindeer-print apron.

“Even you could have done better than this!” Caitlin insisted, sighing as she laid her hands on his chest.

“No, I assure you, I would not. The fire department is not here, so you’re still a better baker than yours truly. Did Jesse ever tell you about the tuna noodle casserole incident?” Caitlin shook her head.

“Fire department?”

“Big time. Anyway, why don’t you just put all that candy out in bowls?” He nodded at some of the items Caitlin had intended to put on top of frosted cookies. “I can go get some ice cream and we could make a sundae station.” Beyond dutifully affectionate helpfulness, Harry actually looked genuinely excited. 

“This from the guy who said he’d never ever host a party?” Caitlin observed in surprise.

“Well,” Harry said, popping a Hershey’s kiss in his mouth, “We’re _co_ -hosting, Caitlin, and that is much less terrifying. And you convinced me, okay, what with all that talk about how Joe always has everyone over for Christmas and how nice it would be to have the gang over here for New Year’s…your whole face lit up, and there were Christmas lights reflected in your eyes, and I sort of just gave into the whole thing.” 

“Okay,” Caitlin replied, grinning and kissing him back in wonderment, “You never cease to amaze me, Harry.” He plucked a gummy bear from the bowl on the counter and popped one in his mouth, then she playfully batted his hand away. “Save those for the party!”

She went over to the fridge, checking to see what other supplies they already had. “Let’s see now, chocolate syrup, whipped cream,” she noted, placing them on the center island. “I think we could use one more each of these, to be safe. And do you know what kind of ice cream everyone likes — hey!”

Caitlin whisked another gummy bear out of Harry’s fingers. “I said, wait for the party,” she said in amused, fake irritation. Harry just smiled knowingly, as if he was hatching some mischievous scheme, and lowered his lips to her hand, stealing the candy back.

“You’re being ridiculous,” Caitlin laughed.

“Am I?” Harry asked, definitely up to something. “I guess I just have a sweet tooth. It’s bad, I’m telling you, I can’t even control myself.” He undid her apron and placed it on the counter behind them, wrapping his arms around her waist as she instinctively melted against him. 

“Really?” Caitlin asked, intrigued. “Give me some examples.”

“Well, take that lipgloss you’re wearing,” Harry replied, brushing his lips too briefly against hers in what was most certainly and unquestionably a tease. “I remember that lipgloss. You were wearing it the first time we…well, you know. It tastes like cherry candy.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“I like it _so_ much, I want to kiss it all off your lips until we’re both dizzy,” Harry suggested huskily, his breath against her ear as arousal coursed through her. It wasn’t the residual heat of the oven making her feel so hot, that was for sure.

“That sounds, uh, _good,_ but there’s a huge mess here to clean up, we have to get ready for the party, and you need to get the ice cream, _and_ stop eating the party treats ahead of time,” Caitlin reminded him, held blissfully captive in his seductive gaze.

“The party doesn’t start for another few hours,” He murmured, “And I told you, I can’t help myself.” Caitlin watched his glance flicker over to the whipped cream and almost had a heart attack.

“You wouldn’t dare,” She breathed.

“I will if you dare me,” Harry promised, following kiss upon kiss, soft and lingering, doing everything he knew she liked. 

She didn’t wait for him to ask again. “I dare you,” she whispered against Harry’s lips. 

Harry picked her up, both of them laughing as the humor of the situation laced with their desire, and as they passed the other end of the counter, he added, “Grab those, we’re going to need them.” Caitlin gave an excited little shriek and took the whipped cream and whatever else she could carry as he dipped her slightly. The next thing she knew, they were tangled up on the bed in yet another kissing frenzy and she was trying to beat her own record as to how fast she could unbutton Harry’s black shirt.

“I bet there’s a basket of laundry here somewhere,” Harry said thoughtfully, and Caitlin paused in confusion.

“You know there is. Since when do I have time to fold the laundry? I’ve been getting dressed out of laundry baskets for five years,” She chuckled. “But why…ohhhh.” Caitlin’s cheeks turned crimson. 

“What do you think?” Harry asked, dangling her soft pink, gauzy scarf over her, gently sliding the sheer material across her body until Caitlin was about ready to scream with the force of her desire. His most gradual and teasing behavior always brought this out of her, to his never-ending pleasure.

“Uhmm,” Caitlin replied haltingly, her hips bucking as he misted the scarf over her lower region, “Yes, I think yes, please.” He took his time kissing all along her arms and wrists before wrapping the scarf around them, tying her to the headboard in a bind loose enough for comfort but snug enough to keep her in place. 

Immediately, her sudden inability to touch and undress Harry began to dually frustrate and arouse Caitlin, his calm and confident authority over the situation making her weak in the knees. She could only await his next move, which was to continue taking off his own shirt, revealing the beautiful chest, stomach and arms she wanted all over her. Carefully watching her expression, making note of her half-opened mouth and fidgety behavior, Harry unbuttoned her plum-colored blouse, leaving it open. He kissed her stomach, as if he absolutely couldn’t resist doing so, before pulling off her jeans and flats. 

“Where should we start?” Harry smiled, but the way his breath caught at the words, she couldn’t fail to realize that his arousal was as intense as her own. He uncapped the whipped cream and released the clasp at the center of her bra, the black lacy one she’d put on specifically hoping he would remove it. “This seems like a good place to begin,” He observed, applying a line of whipped cream to her skin, from her chest all the way down to the waistband of her matching underwear. 

Caitlin’s breaths grew shallow as Harry lowered his mouth to the white, frothy topping, consuming it, while licking, biting and sucking at her eager flesh. She writhed against him, her hands itching to touch him, lips aching for his. As if he’d read her mind, he pressed his mouth to hers, the sweet taste of the whipped cream making it an especially insatiable kiss. Although she was pretty beyond most speech by this point, Caitlin couldn’t resist asking, “Still hungry?”

“Yes,” Harry murmured, drizzling chocolate syrup all over her breasts. She gave a sharp sigh at the cold sensation of the syrup hitting her feverish flesh, then moaned as he used the excuse of the chocolate to explore her soft mounds, sucking her nipples until Caitlin lost herself, her moaning growing so loud that he grew impatient himself.

“I like that sound,” he admitted, squeezing a little more chocolate syrup on top of the thin material of her panties. 

Caitlin gasped, sweat generated from her erotic focus beginning to glue strands of hair to her forehead. She licked her lips, still sweet from his whipped cream kisses, and then gave into the need to move her hips upward as Harry pressed his tongue to the latest location of the syrup. The sounds she made, plus her frantic motions broke the last vestige of playfulness and patience he had left, and Harry yanked her panties down, licking her again with nothing between them now. 

“Do you like being tied up?” Harry asked as Caitlin’s face fell to one side, cheek pressed against her arm as she gave a whimper of pleasure. 

“Yes,” She confessed. He brought his face back up to hers and kissed her, sliding one finger inside her at the same time. “I love your hands,” Caitlin whispered brokenly. She always had; she could still remember sneaking glances at them typing or writing back at the lab and thinking dirty thoughts, never guessing they’d ever end up here.

Almost the moment he added a second finger, she shattered and cried out, her center tightening around him as he watched her, awe-struck as always; under her spell completely. “I love you,” Harry said gently, sweeping her hair back from her face and tucking the stray curls behind her ear. “Do you want me to take that off now?” He nodded at the scarf still holding her to the bedpost, but Caitlin shook her head. 

“No, I want to know how it feels when…” She bit her lip, blushing at the lust-drenched adoration shining in his bright blue eyes. “You know.”

“Okay,” he agreed, quickly doing away with the rest of his clothes, his willingness to take this slow a thing of the past after watching her for the past few minutes.  


Harry positioned himself between her hips and Caitlin wrapped her legs around him as he entered her, her grip on the headboard bars tightening with the intense sensation of fullness. He thrust in and out and they found their rhythm together, Caitlin well aware that having ever been denied touching him at such a moment was going to make her very, very greedy in that area the next time they made love. But the surrender of her control to him, the feeling of complete trust and fascination that she felt for his every movement was so earthshakingly hot that Caitlin was equally aware this was far from the last time she would want to do it like this.

His lips burned into hers as they neared climax, and she kept on kissing him as she came, breathless, hungry for him. Harry’s breath caught again a few moments later and he sighed, “Cait” against her neck, his mouth hot and wet against her skin. 

Harry reached up and untied the scarf, still panting slightly as he rested his head between her neck and shoulders. She encircled him with her arms, stroking his back, sinking into the now-familiar routine of waiting for their breathing to become smooth and slow once more. 

“Think we still have enough time to get ready?” Caitlin asked after a few minutes.

“We have plenty of time,” Harry noted, grabbing his glasses back from the bedside table and peering at the clock. “Though sadly not enough time to make up for the fact that we forgot the maraschino cherries.”

Caitlin giggled and smacked him with a pillow. “You’re bad,” she accused, sitting up with no small amount of regret that they had to get going now if they were ever going to be ready when their friends arrived. 

“Yeah, but you’ve always known that about me,” Harry offered, pulling his jeans back on and reaching for his shirt.

“Next time,” Caitlin promised in a silky tone as she crawled over to him and planted a kiss on his lips, her fingers perched on his chest, “You’re not going to be able to get my hands off of you.”

“I hope not,” he grinned, and she was pleased to discover that she’d made _him_ blush now.

“Get that shirt on immediately, before I forget everything else,” she demanded, having to leap from the bed to resist going to him again, and discovering too late that her legs were still wobbly. “Oh.” She straightened up and buttoned her blouse. 

Caitlin heard him chuckling and put her flirtatiously admonishing tone back on. “You, store, ice cream, now.”

************************************************************************************

They saw cars beginning to pull up out front a while later and Caitlin frowned nervously. She adjusted the straps of her deep sapphire-colored dress and shifted in her heels. “What if there’s not enough room in here and no one can move around?” she worried, but Harry shook his head.

“Snow, there’s room. Come on now. I can’t believe that I’m actually reassuring _you_ about throwing our own party. You got this, alright?” 

He looked insanely dapper in his deceptively simple attire, a white button-down shirt topped off by a black jacket and trousers, the jacket secured by just one button in the middle. Somehow, it showed off his entire tall, dark, handsome persona with a perfection that brought a big smile to Caitlin’s face. There was nothing like love butterflies to make any other little anxiety fade.

“Alright,” she nodded, then opened the door as Team Flash came streaming in, Barry and Iris bearing a cheese and cracker tray and Joe carrying two bottles of champagne. Happily, Gypsy was visiting Earth-1 and arrived on Cisco’s arm as she and Cecile enthused about how amazing the new year was going to be. Everyone looked thoroughly pleased to be there, and Caitlin’s remaining nervousness subsided. It was _nice._

Soon, the place was filled with warm chatter, and soft festive music, the four couples telling stories of their recent adventures both on and off the superhero playing field. Barry and Iris still possessed that newlywed glow that might never really fade from their faces. Harry watched them thoughtfully, his gaze also flickering over to Joe’s hand where it rested contentedly on Cecile’s rounded tummy. Caitlin noticed this as they all sat around chatting and wondered intently what was going through his mind.

A few minutes later, it was time to bring out dessert, and as Caitlin set up the items on the table, Harry grabbing a few more containers of ice cream from the freezer, Cisco rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Dude, way to bury the lead! Is that a _sundae station?_

There was nothing that Harry and Caitlin could do to avoid their faces turning bright red. They both cleared their throats and looked away from the assorted treats with which Cisco was already covering his vanilla ice cream. “Um, yeah,” Caitlin managed as Harry blurted, _”Yup”_ and pressed his lips together. She elbowed him and they both grinned.

“Oh, yes,” Cecile enthused, “It’s on!” She looked at the dessert table like it was a treasure chest filled with priceless gold and everyone laughed merrily at her enthusiasm.

“Never underestimate a pregnant woman’s love of chocolate,” Caitlin smiled, slipping her arm through Harry’s.

He had this strange look on his face, she noticed, one that he’d been having on and off throughout the whole party. As if something was making him take very significant pause, apply deep analysis to this seemingly light and fluffy environment.

“Harry,” she asked more seriously, “What is it?”

“I want, I want all of that with you, what they have,” He nodded at Barry and Iris and then at Joe and Cecile, “ _And_ what they have, Snow, I…want…” He was getting all worked up now, his voice shaking and his palms growing moist as she took his hands in concern. Harry’s words sort of stumbled into each other as he tried to explain what had made him suddenly so emotional and intense: “I want to marry you.”


	11. If the nightmares come, I'll wake you up

“Wha-what?” Caitlin asked, baffled. She hadn’t been able to make out what Harry had said because he was somehow managing to stammer and mix the words up at the same time. And the way he was holding her by the arms, staring into her eyes with such ardent emotion was enough to make processing actual words even harder.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, wiping his mouth with one hand, shaking his head.

“You don’t _know_?” She repeated.

“I know, but I don’t know,” He clarified uselessly. Caitlin sighed and grabbed his elbow, leading him outside and closing the front door of the apartment behind them as their guests politely tried not to stare.

“Harry,” she soothed when they were alone, “It’s okay, you know you can tell me anything. What’s got you all worked up all of a sudden?”

He vacillated, anxiety over how she might respond to his question wracking his brain until he finally gave up and fell to his knees, taking her hand and giving her a pleading look.

Caitlin’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth fell open in shock, her heart slamming against her ribcage, the moment surreal beyond anything else she’d experienced in her life. 

“I said, ‘I want to marry you’,” Harry reiterated, his voice breathy, still overwhelmed, but he made a real effort to say the words very clearly this time. “I’m sorry if that’s crazy or too soon or just not anything you were planning to ever do again, but I’m asking anyway because if I don’t, wondering what you’d say might actually kill me, so.” Tears spilled from Caitlin’s eyes as she gave a startled laugh, then pressed her lips together, her fingers trembling in his gentle grip.

“Marry me, Cait,” He beseeched, “I promise you that I will dedicate my life to making yours as amazingly happy as I possibly can. Anything you ever need from me, you got it. Always.”

“Harry,” Caitlin said, pulling him back up and taking his face between her hands, “What about Killer Frost? I have no idea what’s going to happen, when she might show up, what damage she could do!”

“I don’t care. She’s part of you, and there’s nothing about you, not one single thing, that I won’t accept, that I won’t love and care for and help you with, including this particular struggle with your alter ego.” 

“How did I get so lucky?” Caitlin asked, kissing him.

“Not that lucky, Snow. You’ll still have to actually put up with _me_. I mean, if you're saying yes, that is -- are you saying yes, because--"

"Yes, of course I'm saying yes, Harry," she assured him. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly as their lips met in a passionate kiss, sealing the promise.

“Oh, my God, I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous in my life,” he said, lips near her forehead.

“Even on the double date?” Caitlin teased.

“I thought you swore to never mention that again,” he complained with a groan as she giggled.

They had recently gone on a double date with Barry and Iris, but it had made Harry feel so pressured to behave properly that he’d been incredibly stiff and awkward, making terrible small talk and acting for all the world as though he’d never interacted with the other couple before.

"That was so cute,” she insisted, tugging his collar, “I loved it. You try, for me, and I notice that. I’ve told you before, though, don’t ever try to be anyone else. Harrison Wells, you’re perfect just the way you are.”

There was much more kissing after that, to the extent that enough time passed for someone inside the apartment to tap on the door and ask, “Everything okay, guys?” It was Cisco. Harry groaned again.

“You know, I have to ask him to be my best man, now. He told me so. Gah!” He practically pouted. 

“Enjoy your humble pie, sweetie,” Caitlin smirked, taking his hand and leading him back inside.

*****************************************************************************

_Six Months Later_

Harry had to knock on the hotel room door with his elbow. Since he was carrying a bottle of champagne and two flutes, there was no way he could have slid the key card into the lock. “Hey,” he greeted casually as the door opened. “Did you get the—” 

His face fell as he saw that it was not Caitlin who’d answered the door of their honeymoon suite, but Killer Frost. “Ice,” he finished wryly, walking past Frost and setting the bottle and glasses down on the table. 

“Would you look at you,” Killer Frost drawled lazily, circling Harry like a bird of prey. “White t-shirt, cargo shorts, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a color scheme other than… _black._ ”

“And?” Harry asked, crossing his arms. Killer Frost let one silver-tipped finger trail over his arm muscles and he shivered. Her touch felt like tiny daggers of biting cold, but he would not show her that it bothered him. There didn’t seem to be much point in offending her, indicating that she frightened him, or doing anything else that might delay bringing Caitlin back to him as soon as possible. Seeing Killer Frost always had the same strange, heartbreaking, otherworldly effect on him: it was Caitlin but absolutely not Caitlin, and he missed the woman he loved in a profound way which only this occurrence could provoke.

Although he’d meant it when he promised Caitlin that he was ready to deal with the complications of her alter ego, this still hurt, mainly because in the back of his mind, Harry always worried that she would get stuck like this — that Killer Frost would take over forever. 

“And…” Frost purred, “I think I miss the black.” She looked over at the empty bucket on the table and shot a blast of cold power at it, filling the receptacle with chunks of fresh ice. Then she picked up the champagne and stuffed it in before snarking, “Wedding present.”

“Right. So, um…” He shoved his impatience down and focused on showing empathy and kindness instead. “Why are you here?”

Killer Frost turned and walked to the window, drawing the curtains back to look at foamy turquoise waves pounding against the moonlit beach stories below. “Aruba, huh?”

“Yeah, we had a hard time choosing a honeymoon destination, but Mick Rory told us this place was amazing. And it is.” He strolled towards her, trying to coax Caitlin out somehow. “Me and Caitlin, relaxing on the soft white sands, swimming, scuba diving, exploring caves, romantic dinners, long walks on the beach, it’s been the best week of my life.” 

He let his electric blue gaze drift over Frost’s disdainful look. She knew what he was doing. She was prepared to fight him because she didn’t want to go away again.

“Bleh,” Frost replied, sticking a finger in her mouth with theatrical disgust. “You two don’t know how to party.” She made the mistake of looking over at Harry’s melancholy expression and her resolve slipped just a little. “I’m here because…she’s afraid. It’s the last night of your honeymoon, and she doesn’t want things to change, ever. She’s so…” Killer Frost shook her head, giving a painful smirk at the realization of how powerfully she could feel Caitlin’s emotions sometimes. “She’s so happy.”

There was a surprising innocence in Frost’s baby blue eyes, simply because she was describing Caitlin’s most vulnerable insecurities, surrendering to the rarely-seen softer side of herself in the process. “When you two go back to Central City and start your new life together, she has no idea what problems you’ll face. Really, she’s just afraid that there’s a darkness inside her, and that’s why I exist. She’s worried that someday, she’ll make a desperate, twisted mistake born from that darkness and…hurt you. Ruin this. Rip it to pieces. Maybe it would be her, maybe me. Maybe someday there won’t _be_ a Caitlin Snow, only a Killer Frost.”

“Everyone has a dark side,” Harry observed, overcome with the impossible urge to hold Caitlin in his arms that very moment, loving all of her anxieties away. “I vowed to cherish Caitlin’s forever, and that’s what I plan to do, no matter what happens.”

“Oh, go ahead,” Killer Frost sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat. “Bring her back. I know you can. Enjoy the rest of your trip, geeks. I’ll be seeing you again soon enough, I’m sure.”

Harry nodded. “Thank you.” He placed a hand on each of her shoulders, not flinching at the icy sensation this brought. “Caitlin, come back to me. I need you.” He murmured the words softly, adding, “Everything is going to be fine, better than fine — we’re going to have a beautiful life together. I know it, even if we can’t know anything else. Even if life is quite frankly insane and terrifyingly unpredictable.” He kissed her forehead, feeling the cold recede, Caitlin’s much warmer skin temperature returning in response to his presence, his words, his lips. “It doesn’t matter, not when we’re together. I love you.”

Frost grimaced slightly as her flesh changed from glisteningly pale to peachy-pink, the white of her hair shifting back to brunette. Harry placed a hand on Caitlin’s cheek as she fell softly into his embrace. “I’m sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. 

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re back,” Harry replied as she gave a shaky smile.

“Oh, Harry,” she fretted, “I wish I could have just told you how I felt, instead of immediately changing into _her_. God, it’s frustrating.”

“Listen, when we get back home, back to work, why don’t we start looking into that theory we had, about separating you from Frost?” Harry was ready for the look that crossed Caitlin’s face at the suggestion. She was afraid to hope such an endeavor would work, most of all because she couldn’t stand the idea of disappointing her husband, reminding him more harshly than ever that they were both stuck with Killer Frost.

“I know that Ray seemed pretty positive it would work, based on the formula he devised to split up Firestorm,” She allowed, “But if it’s a failure, I won’t be able to look you in the eyes.”

“Stop that, would you? Please? For me.” Harry gathered her hands and kissed them. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll try again and we won’t give up until you can live comfortably and without all of this completely understandable anxiety. Plus…I’m fairly certain it will work, Snow. ‘Cause guess what?” She shot him a curious look. “When you and I put our heads together, there’s nothing we can’t do. Just ask Clifford DeVoe,” he winked.

“True,” she admitted, letting out a deep breath. “Let’s try, Harry. I’m ready for that.” He looked so pleased that her heart skipped a beat. “Cut it out,” she said with a laugh still half wrapped up in tears, “I’m trying to be stressed out and you’re killing the mood completely. You always do.”

“That means I’m doing my job. Don’t forget, I _am_ your husband. We are so married, Caitlin Snow-Wells.”

Caitlin grinned. It still gave her goosebumps and sent a thrill rushing through her whenever he used the words “husband” and “wife.” He’d cheered her up so very effectively that her thoughts started to wander back to much happier matters, such as the way those shorts hung low on his hips, or the way his t-shirt was hugging his arms. Caitlin bit her lip, raking her fingers through Harry’s hair, one of her very favorite sensations, especially since it looked so fantastic messed up. 

“Frost was pretty mad at me for wearing pink again,” Caitlin laughed as they both looked at her pink silk robe, under which she was wearing a matching chemise. She had received so much lingerie at her bachelorette party that she’d ended up throwing skimpy little bras and thongs at Iris, Cecile and Felicity, collapsing into giggles. Later on, of course, she’d carefully gathered them back up, planning to put each and every gift to good use.

“And I’m….not,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her attire, making closer note of it now that they were alone. “At all.” He ran his hands over the smooth material that covered her shoulders and back, finally cupping her ass as their lips met again.

“I brought the champagne,” Harry told her between kisses.

“Mmm, good,” Caitlin sighed, referring to this announcement as well as the way he tasted. She gave him a coy look. “Pour me a glass, will you?” He gave her an inquisitive look as she definitely seemed to be hatching a scheme, but dutifully poured them each a glass.

“To us?” Harry suggested. “Come what may, Cait. Us.”

“Yeah,” Caitlin agreed, clinking her glass against his. The flirtatious glimmer in her eyes shifted to a more serious and reflective look. “Thanks, Harry. I can’t believe the way you put up with, well, _her._ With all my issues.”

They each took a sip of their drinks. “I don’t put up with anything, I just thank my lucky stars you love me back,” he answered. “You love all my broken pieces. Who would do that? Why would the most astoundingly amazing woman in the world do that? Sometimes I think I must be dreaming.”

Caitlin blushed. The intensely eloquent way he complimented her still had that overwhelming effect on her; maybe it always would. There was no one quite as deliciously and sincerely dramatic as Harry, and no one as romantic, despite the fact that only she knew this. “You’re not dreaming,” she assured him. She let the mischief come back into her smile.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, reciprocal desire shining in his eyes.

Caitlin didn’t answer verbally; she just set his champagne flute aside and lifted his t-shirt over his head. 

“Oh, really?” Harry asked as she enjoyed the sight of his gorgeous, half-naked body. 

“Oh,” she answered slyly, retrieving her own glass and pouring champagne all over him, “Really.”

“Ohhh,” he laughed, surprised at the sudden sensation of the cold, fizzy liquid hitting his bare skin. “ _Ohhh,_ ” he repeated more emphatically when his wife gave him a deliberate, playful, very aroused look and proceeded to lick the champagne from his chest and stomach. She used small, delicate, cat-like licks that made him clutch her shoulder, growing hard in response.

“Hmm,” Caitlin sighed, “Where else can I pour that?” She pulled off his shorts and dripped some more champagne onto his erection, causing him to suck in a breath. 

“You are being very bad, Snow,” Harry groaned, just barely holding himself together as she continued licking, the strokes of her tongue getting longer and more generous. “Very,” he continued with a sharp sigh, “very, very — _very_ bad.”

Caitlin’s tongue traveled back up his stomach and chest, and then she slipped her robe off. “And? What are you going to do about it?” He took one look at her scant, blush-colored nightgown, the top part of which was entirely see-through, and grasped her thigh, letting his fingers drift up further beneath the frothy short skirt.

“All manner of things,” he promised as they kissed their way to the bed. “I’m gonna wear you out,” he murmured once they were sprawled out together, using his teeth to lower the spaghetti straps of her chemise.

“Oh, you can try,” Caitlin smiled.

“Is that a challenge?” Harry asked his wife, his head delving between her thigh-high stockings-clad legs, which rested over his shoulders. “No underwear? Definitely a challenge.” He flicked his tongue over her, directing his attentions to the exact spot that he knew would drive her wild. Caitlin gasped, beginning to think she was in over her head with this particular challenge, and therefore very happy to have issued it.

“Lay down,” she commanded him, watching with satisfaction as he took up position beneath her, gazing up in fascination. Taking a deep breath, she sank down on him, knowing as she did so that the sudden shock of pleasure was going to throw her for a loop. Harry stared at her, mesmerized, as she began to ride him, her head thrown back as she lost herself in the sensations this provoked. He pulled her chemise down and cupped her breasts, then teased her nipples with his fingers as she continued to move, the whole procedure on his part pushing her erotic thrill over the edge until she couldn’t hold out any longer. Her head fell forward, hair spilling out across his chest as she was enveloped by her orgasm. Harry’s tightening grip on her hips and the burning sigh which escaped his lips showed that he’d found release in the same moment.

“Getting your breath back?” Harry asked softly after a few minutes of heavy breathing and snuggling had elapsed. He caressed her face and she nodded.

“Are you worn out yet?” He gave her a devilish look, never more handsome or irresistible. Caitlin looked up at him and shook her head.

“Not even close.” 

***********************************************************************************

_Epilogue: Two Months Later…_

“Dr. Wells,” Caitlin said, nodding formally to her husband as she entered Star Labs, tray of coffee cups in hand. She reached the tray out to him with a playfully casual, work-vibe air and he went along with it, nodding with the utmost politeness.

“Dr. Snow-Wells,” Harry replied, taking his coffee and adding, “Thank you very much.”

“The eyelash batting,” Cisco groaned to the whole team, tossing his pen and catching it again. “The eyelash batting _alone,_ both of you. Do you two ever stop flirting?”

Caitlin and Harry blinked innocently. “Who, us?” She shrugged as Harry frowned in faux confusion.

“I don’t think we flirt in the lab, do we?” Harry asked as she shook her head. “He’s exaggerating.”

“Believe me, we all wish that was true,” Barry put in, but his grin showed how glad he was that his two friends were so blissfully happy on a daily basis. 

Now that Caitlin and Harry had succeeded in separating her from Killer Frost, the last barrier to their moving on and into their own new life together had been removed. Caitlin had also found, slightly to her surprise, that she had a whole other burden of guilt removed from her soul. Before, she’d had to live knowing that whenever she was dominant in her own body, that meant Killer Frost was suppressed. No one deserved that. It was just one more layer to the whole strange, outrageous ordeal of playing host to an alter ego that made her freedom — and Frost’s — euphorically relieving.

For now, Killer Frost was living on house arrest there in the lab, lending her help — and snide commentary — during their adventures and trying to keep her nose clean despite the many temptations to let her icy powers solve problems more aggressively than they should. As Caitlin had theorized and hoped, based on the way they both felt when they were suppressed by the other identity and when they regained control, once they had been separated for a while, Frost’s violent tendencies and dangerous temper decreased considerably. 

“I might even have to drop the ‘Killer’ from my name sometime soon,” Frost had said with some sarcastic regret, her silver lips pursed. But Cisco had taken up the habit of calling her “K.F.,” which over time had morphed into “Kiff,” a nickname the team had adopted with a new affection for their rehabilitated, former-villain member. 

Now, Frost rolled her eyes and fluffed out her long white locks, suppressing a fond look over at Caitlin and Harry. “Geeks,” she said for the millionth time, examining her long, glossy-black painted nails.

“So, anyway, we were talking about increasing Barry’s speed,” Cisco continued, bringing the group back on-task. “Again. It never really gets old or stops being useful, and we’ve devised some killer new strategies—”

“Must you throw that word around?” Frost asked petulantly, arms crossed.

“Sorry, Kiffy,” Cisco amended. “Barry, you up for some more speed tests this morning?”

“You betcha,” Barry agreed with a sunny smile, wrapping an arm around Iris’ shoulders. “It never _does_ get old, you know. Running.” 

“Team Flash,” Iris grinned, putting her hand out. Everyone piled their hands up with a loud hurrah, more than a little high on how well things had been going for them lately.

It wouldn’t always be this easy. Honeymoons end, defeated villains return, life’s twists could be sour more often than sweet, but they understood this. The friendship that bonded them all together would see them through.

And, Caitlin reflected, in a seriously sentimental mood this day, she and Harry were together, and that was, well…everything.

When everyone else left the room, they settled into their desk chairs, side by side, analytical software ready to follow Barry’s progress. Harry didn’t say anything because they were trying so hard to keep their minds on work, but he couldn’t seem to resist a wink, flashing those dimples and reminding her how much easier he smiled lately. It was beautiful.

“I saw that look,” Caitlin grinned, now keeping her eyes glued on the computer screen. 

“I wasn’t doing a look,” he objected, the corners of his eyes crinkling with amusement though he managed to remain deadpan. “Come now, Caitlin, the honeymoon is long since over, and here we are with our heads firmly back in the game. Work colleagues and _only_ work colleagues until the end of the day.”

“Hmmm, that’s right, the honeymoon _is_ over,” she sighed casually, letting one strap of her black tank top slip off her shoulder. She clicked away at the keyboard, cool as can be, adding in a low voice, “Even if I can still remember the taste of the salt water on your abs.”

“What?” He asked, intrigued.

“What?” She repeated teasingly, chewing on her pen, “Nothing.”

He rolled over to her in his chair and nodded at her exposed shoulder, the tiny, sky-blue string atop it having caught his eye. “What’s that?”

“Oh,” Caitlin replied, “Oops.”

“Are you wearing that bikini? The one that I specifically told you, if I ever saw you wearing it again, I would….” He nodded suggestively as she buried a giggle in her palm. 

“Maybe,” she admitted. 

“That software runs on its own, so if we stopped monitoring it for a little while, do you think anyone would notice?” His voice layered silk over her spine as he lowered the other strap of her tank top, then tugged slightly until the familiar, low criss-cross of the bikini top was revealed. Caitlin leaned forward and took his glasses off, laying them on the desk. 

“They might, actually,” she reflected, “But I’m not sure I…one hundred percent care.”

“Well then,” Harry replied, pulling her off of her chair and right onto his lap, “Under normal circumstances, I might call this unprofessional and reckless, but the doctor _did_ say we should be as active as possible during this part of the month. To increase our chances of conception and all.”

“She did say that,” Caitlin confirmed. “And honestly, if we’re just following doctor’s orders, how unprofessional or reckless can that really be?”

“Exactly,” he agreed, lifting her up and sitting her on the desk as her legs closed around him snugly. She slid a hand into his hair and pulled his face down, kissing him with abandon, like they were the only two people in the world. “Under these circumstances, I’d say this encounter is a simple biological imperative.” 

He undid the tie at the back of the bikini top, his rigid erection brushing against her moist core as they moved together enticingly. She moaned and he pulled her skirt up slowly, his fingers delving inside the bikini bottom, skimming over her most sensitive, screamingly alert areas as he remarked, “It’s practically academic.” The seductive tone in his voice enhanced the sensations brought on by his movements, and Caitlin swallowed, feeling herself growing wetter, the throbbing demand at her center intensifying.

“How does it keep getting _better?_ ” Caitlin sighed sharply when he trailed his mouth across her shoulder blades, “Isn’t this sort of thing supposed to get less and less interesting the longer you’re married?”

“Either they lied, Snow, or else that’s just…” He brushed her long, tousled mane back from her face until it bounced beguilingly around her bare upper torso, the sight of Caitlin’s beauty again making his whole face light up. “Or else,” he continued, capturing her lips in his, biting down softly until she moaned again, slipping her tongue into his mouth, hungrier for him than ever. Caitlin drew back just enough to stare into his eager, puppy-dog eyes, the perfect combination of earnestness and dirty, sexy thoughts resonating from his expression, one that never failed to unravel her.

“Did you lose your train of thought?” Caitlin wondered, lifting his black t-shirt, fingers grazing his taunt, lean, muscular frame. 

“I was just going to say, Snow,” Harry answered, his fingers holding her face tenderly, “That’s so us.”


End file.
